#that jazz is gonna getcha

[tiramegtoons]

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Slimy fellow meets slimy fellow.

Also known as Fellow meets Azul.

I thought this one would be more fun to write if I immediately cut to Fellow at the Mostro Lounge (following the reader's advice, of course)! Also, I will take any excuse to write the twins--

This ended up being a lot longer than I had initially intended, it's over 2k words (blame my Octavinelle bias)... Hope you enjoy!

So tell me, do you wanna go?

"Whoa, Giddie. Check out this classy joint."

Fellow whistled as he took in the majesty of the Mostro Lounge.

Plum carpets gave rise to a set of stairs, and up the railings were several plush, quilted booths. Each table had its own lamp, a shining orb held up by a gnarled arm of coral. There was a bar area too, complete with a row of sleek stools, the shelves behind the counter well-stocked with tins of tea blends.

Overlooking the entire establishment was a massive glass wall, where the ocean itself peered in on the patrons. Shadows of seaweed and coral ran along the seabed outside, rainbow-colored fish darting by in bursts. Jellyfish lights swung from the ceiling, casting the lounge in an otherworldly blue glow. Smooth jazz emanated from somewhere in the eatery, backed by the soft accompaniment of ambient sounds--water splashing, bubbles dancing.

As Fellow and Gidel stood there gawking, they hadn't noticed two lanky shadows approach them from behind--not until they uttered a greeting in unison.

"Welcome to the Mostro Lounge!"

Fellow jumped at the hands that clapped onto either of his shoulders. He met two nearly identical faces.

"Table for two?" Jade offered.

"Can we getcha started with drinks?" Floyd asked.

Fellow jolted back, pointing a shaking finger at the twins. "H-HIEEEEEEE!! I-It's you guys!"

Jade smiled politely, feigning ignorance. “Oya, Fellow-san. You appear to be rather jumpy today. You’ve come to just the right place to put that anxiety to rest.”

“Y-You’re not gonna wail on us?!”

“Wail on ya?” Floyd’s mouth was stretched eerily wide. “Eheheh. Why’d we wanna do that?”

“Quite right, Floyd." Jade nodded. "We would never harm an esteemed guest. This is a gentlemen's lounge--there is no fighting allowed."

"You're... not mad about what happened before?"

The corners of Jade's mouth twitched. A droll laugh, suppressed. "Think nothing of it. Call it water under the bridge. Floyd and I, we are not the vengeful sort."

Fellow stared at him as though Jade had suddenly sprouted another head. I don't buy that for one second!!

"So do ya want grub or not? Hurry up, cuz we got other customers to deal with," Floyd groused, jabbing at finger at the packed tables behind him.

Fellow eyed them both suspiciously--but his gaze darted between the shady eels and Gidel, who was patting his belly. His reply came out weak and reluctant. "Well... If you're offering food..."

"Then right this way." Jade bent, gesturing with one hand. "I believe this is your first time dining with us, so allow me to inform you of our specials."

He led the way, expertly weaving between Octavinelle servers and roaming guests. Fellow followed, Gidel lagging behind him, and Floyd held the back of the line, plucking up two menus from a podium as they passed it. As they briskly made their way to an open booth, Jade rattled off facts.

"You may order a la cart, but we also offer meal sets in which we have curated the perfectly paired the dishes for you. Substitutions can be made upon request to accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions. There is a separate specialty beverage menu. The Mystery Drink is our most popular item--we highly recommend it."

"Wait a sec!" Fellow held up a hand. "Food's great and all, but I was hopin' to hear about something else too."

Jade craned his head. "Oh? And what might that be?"

The fox beastman leaned in, cupping his mouth against Jade's ear. "Word on the street is, the big shot around here has the ability to make wishes come true. I want in on that."

The twins exchanged a knowing look. Their mismatched eyes glinted with delight.

"... Of course, dear customer. We can arrange an audience with Azul for you. However, please be advised that it requires that you order a certain amount of food. The meal sets are worth 3 points each, and the drinks, 1 point. You will need to accumulate at least 50 points total in order to secure a spot with Azul."

"No problem! Together, Giddie and I could eat a man out of house and home," Fellow chuckled. "We'll take one of everything you've got!"

“Out of house and home!!” For some reason, this made Floyd laugh. It was an odd, raspy sound, like branches and the wind scraping and rustling against a ratty window.

“What’s so funny?”

"Oh, nothin’. You just made me remember a funny joke,” Floyd reassured him. “Don’t worry. We’ll get your order ready for ya in a jiffy~"

"Azul, you have a new client."

Jade held the door open for Fellow and Gidel to pass through. Floyd lingered in the corridor like a bouncer guarding the room--or a jailer ensuring they stay in it.

The duo stepped into a neat office, flanked on both sides by towering bookshelves. The carpet they treaded on bore an intricate pattern of scalloped shells and swirls. Two deep purple couches were set across from one another. A coffee table was between them, its surface layered glass. Luminescent blue colored the base of the bookshelves and the interior of the coffee table.

A large chunk of the back wall composed a massive vault. Seated in front of it was a young man at a grand desk. He had silvery hair swept to one side, and sharp eyes behind thick frames. A pile of contracts say upon his desk, along with a lamp and a pot of ink. He deposited what appeared to be a fish skeleton in his inkwell and stood, smiling at Fellow and Gidel.

“Welcome to the VIP Room,” the young man purred. “I am the dorm leader of Octavinelle and the manager of Mostro Lounge. Azul Ashengrotto, at your service.”

“Honest. Fellow Honest. And this here’s my little buddy, Gidel.”

"Oh, there's no need for introductions, Fellow-san. I've already heard plenty about you from Jade and Floyd."

"Have you now?" A slight edge formed in Fellow's voice. "It sounds like my reputation precedes me."

Azul chuckled darkly. "Indeed. Ah, but that is why you've come to seek my counsel, is it not? You're seeking something. Please, have a seat." He gestured to the couches. "Tell me of your troubles."

Gidel happily planted himself down, but Fellow stood his ground and clenched his fists.

"It's money," he blurted out. "I need money, and lots of it."

Azul blinked. He quickly composed himself and gave a laugh. "If I could materialize thaumarks out of thin air, the value of them would surely plummet. May I ask what it is that you intend on using these funds for?"

"I want to start my own school. One that'll be WAY better than this crappy establishment for entitled rich kids!" Fellow waved at the overembellished office with his cane. "A school for everyone, no matter what their background or social class is! A school that teaches practical life skills!"

(The twins, listening in from the doorway, snickered amongst themselves. Azul shot them a glare.)

"Hmm... I see that you're an ambitious man, Fellow-san. As a businessman myself, I must commend your drive," the merman drawled, "and I am willing to help make it a reality, provided you are also willing to pay the price. You can't get something for nothing, as I'm sure you know."

Fellow's stomach dropped. He had anticipated this, but it didn't make the gut punch any less painful. "What's it gonna cost me?"

"I'm not asking much. Just a token, really--a trifle! You'll never even miss it." Slime coated each of Azul's words. "What I want from you is... your unique magic."

He went cold, the color draining from him. From the couch, Gidel startled, suddenly alarmed. "Life is Fun?""

"Correct." Azul's smile seemed more like a smirk now. "From my understanding, your spell is able to enhance one's optimism, making the subject more susceptible to suggestion and taking risks. Not only that, but it is subtle enough to avoid detection. It would be a great boon to have at my disposal. I could easily dispel any doubts my clients may have about signing a contract."

"But that's...! That's...!" Fellow sputtered, unable to come up with a coherent argument.

"That is my offer, Fellow-san. It's non-negotiable." Azul looked him up and down. Not that he has much else to offer.

"Tch...!"

He weighed the options.

Riches for his magic. A magic so measly that mightier mages spat upon it. His magic for riches. Riches so vast he could jumpstart his dream, ensure a golden future for him and Gidel.

Azul's words coiled around him like constrictive tentacles.

"I'm not asking much. Just a token, really--a trifle! You'll never even miss it."

Fellow wavered.

Maybe I should take the deal...

"...!!"

Gidel rose from the couch and tackled Fellow, latching onto an arm. Fellow stumbled backwards, nearly crashing into a bookshelf.

"W-Whoa! Hey, watch it, Giddie!!" he yelped, trying to pry the boy off of him. "Can't 'cha see I'm thinkin' here?!"

Fellow abruptly stopped. Gidel gazed at him with wide, pleading eyes. Wetness coated the corners, tears threatening to spill.

It's a part of you. It's yours. Don't give it up, he begged.

"Giddie..." Fellow's hand sank into Gidel's hair and ruffled it. "... Thanks for that. I needed it."

His resolve returned to him, hardening into steel. Turning back to Azul, Fellow replied, "Sorry, I've changed my mind. I think I'll work things out on my own."

"!!" Gidel beamed proudly.

"Are you certain? These endeavors can be a challenge without sufficient financial backing," Azul warned.

"Positive. I don't wanna kiss up to some board of investors to move up in the world!" Fellow seized Gidel's oversized sleeve. "C'mon, we've got places to be!"

"Well!" Azul huffed, looking displeased. "If you think you can manage!"

"We can, no worries!"

With that, Fellow steered himself and Gidel out of the VIP Room. They skipped along, humming a jolly tune. Azul waited for their sound to completely vanish before he jerked his head to the twins.

"I thought you said they'd be easy marks," he bellowed.

"Perhaps we misjudged," Jade suggested, brows upturned. "The child appears to act as Fellow-san's conscience--and a rather effective one, at that."

"We did almost get them though!" Floyd protested. "Hook, line, and sinker!!"

Azul sighed deeply. "There's no helping it. What's done is done. This time, they got away from us--but it's alright. At the very least, we've got their money!"

Silence threaded the room.

"... I said, at the very least, we've got their money." Azul stared at the twins, who were strangely quiet. "We DO have their money, correct?"

"My, I may have neglected to disclose our prices to Fellow-san," Jade said with a smile. "It seems he was under the impression that the Mostro Lounge's offerings were as free as the cafeteria's buffet is."

"And since we know you're soooo generous, we thought it would be okay to let'm eat their fill to rack up those points~" Floyd added. "'Sides, Jade and I wanted to see how you'd get along!"

Azul's expression splintered. "... So you two allowed Fellow-san and Gidel-san to dine and dash? All to get a rise out of me?"

"You could phrase it like that, yes."

"Yup~!!"

Panic immediately set in. His mind raced, running the calculations simultaneously. How many tens of hundreds of thaumarks he was losing out on.

Azul pushed past the nonchalant Leeches and to the door. Gathering all of his breath, he hollered down the hallway.

"All Mostro Loungs staff on deck, this is an order from your manager!! I want that redheaded fox beastman and his cat accomplice captured and brought to me STAT!! Is that clear?!"

"Wow, Azul's really losin' it!" Floyd cackled. "It was worth all that trouble just to see this~"

"I couldn't agree more, Floyd. Fufufu, there is never a dull day in Octavinelle."

[alshaverpressbox]

the minnesota wild as High School Musical characters

did I take this too seriously? yes. have I spent the last week thinking about this? also yes. anyway, the context: we were assigned the wildcats by a swede. @babygirlspurgeon kept tagging things with HSM lyrics. @wildaboutmnhockey created the masterpiece video of the mn wild set to getcha head in the game. so now here I am!!! this has been meticulously constructed with the help of my friend who doesn't know anything about the wild beyond what I tell her (shoutout to zoe for being balls to the wall no matter what I throw at her! who else will discuss the misc. cunt levels of the wild players with me). anyway to make this easier on ourselves we constructed a reality wherein High School Musical is being recreated on ice & instead of basketball in the plot it's hockey, so this is NOT about who's most like a character etc (though that ended up being a large part of it anyway whoops), but who could embody them best in a production of it. since the cast for HSM is not...particularly large, I was really getting down into the weeds with minor parts to fit (almost) the whole roster in here, so most everyone has their moment!!! anyway. and lastly. I am just saying that mounting this show during intermissions could maybe fix the nightmare this season has been & bring the team together. because they are. after all. all in this together.

tldr: this is basically a fancast of HSM using only the minnesota wild. I am not explaining myself any further

***

Troy Bolton // Matt Boldy

look. we really had to waffle between many options for Troy and this is where we ended up. my thoughts on matt boldy have been semi-well documented at this point, so mr. white bread bimbo feels like an organic option for this role. I feel like he can really serve us some mid-range semi-insensitive high school jock realness + angst without trying too hard. plus: I feel like he'll play off Shawzy as Gabriella really well.

Gabriella Montez // Mason Shaw

for as fucking annoying as Gabriella is at points, there's an earnest authenticity there that shawzy so easily embodies. his "let's play hockey" moment from playoffs 2023........he has the emotional RANGE and will murder When There Was Me and You in cold blood. plus, much like gabriella does for troy in HSM, mason will be able to coax that emotional performance from boldy as troy with his whole do-it-for-shawzy energy. what else can be said!!! the boys love him!! so don't worry, shawzy!! you soon will be soaring. flying. and breaking free.

Sharpay Evans // Marcus Foligno

marcus foligno the man that you are. he can and WILL serve the cunt necessary to be Sharpay. he will commit body and soul to bringing this role to life, though we may have to adjust the line "evaporate, tall person" to be more appropriate. anyway. I would give SO much in this life to see moose perform Bop to the Top. who will fund this with me.

Ryan Evans // Mats Zuccarello

known funky little man mats zuccarello does SO WELL as Ryan in my mind. his dancing has been well documented so you KNOW he's gonna absolutely kill the game with those jazz squares (it's a crowd favorite! everybody loves a good jazz square), plus his affable, everyman, team-first energy is exactly what the role of ryan demands. also: the idea of him as ryan and foligno as sharpay....chef's kiss.

Chad Danforth // Ryan Hartman

hartzy...hype man for the boys...put him a series of shirts with chirpy slogans on them for my enjoyment please!!! then make him walk around with sports props for the entire production. anyway, hartzy gives me the requisite jock bro energy necessary to pull off chad's role, as well as the bitchiness needed to essentially sabotage something that is making his best buddy troy happy. plus. I'm just SAYING. given chad and ryan's dynamic in HSM2. I am eyeing him and zuccy with anticipation.

Taylor McKessie // Joel Eriksson Ek

he's going the distance. he's going for speed. he's being cast as the tenacious captain of the scholastic decathlon team. mr. september is nothing but committed to his craft and this seriousness and dedication is EXACTLY what we need for taylor. that being said, our boy jeek is up for some shenanigans given the right situation, so will he manufacture a situation to rudely disrupt the decathlon & basketball finals? but of course!!

Kelsi Nielsen // Connor Dewar

who ELSE is going to bring enough weird girl energy to the table?? I feel like dewey 2 would take this SO seriously and the role of kelsi, while at times beyond fucking annoying, demands nothing but sincerity and dedication. he wouldn't be able to NOT take this seriously. this man has also stated that he would be a writer if not for hockey, so we can really get some method acting up in this bitch. essentially: put a bowler hat on that beast and watch him go.

Ms. Darbus // Marc-Andre Fleury

this role had to be rotated in my mind a lot before settling on a casting choice. I mean, goalies are weird, and I feel like flower would bring jussssst enough bizarro energy that would perfectly drive a middle-aged thespian who, for some reason, allowed a high school student to write and mount a musical that seems to make little to no sense. maybe it's all part of a large prank. who knows.

Coach Bolton // Jake Middleton

I can't pretend this is anything other than typecasting, I'm so sorry. I can't look at middsy without being reminded of the dad from Inside Out, plus "the mustache is saying pushing 50" according to my friend. I can also perfectly envision middsy yelling WHAT ARE THOSE TWO DOING IN A TREE with great dedication, so. assigned dilf at HSM casting

Lucille Bolton // Jared Spurgeon

does spurge deserve a larger role? maybe. possibly. probably. but look: once we cast middsy as troy's dad, spurgeon was quick to follow as troy's mom. who are we to fight the natural sexual chemistry of these two? anyway. assigned milf at HSM casting

Jason Cross // Brandon Duhaime

typecast as dumb jock from a team of jocks. what does that say about you, mr. duhaime??? anyway, dewey 1 is really going to deliver on the clueless but loyal bro vibes here. as a bonus. a very IMPORTANT bonus. I have to note that at the end of All in this Together jason is the one to remove kelsi's bowler hat and help her shoot a basket in a VERY flirtatious manner. and I AM all about putting the deweys in that situation, so help me god.

Zeke Baylor // Frédérick Gaudreau

he IS a sweetheart!!!!! a sweetheart!!!!! someday you WILL make the perfect crème brûlée, freddy!!! & your boys will love you for it!!!!

Martha Cox // Brock Faber

the glasses are giving nerd. and then THIS is giving pop and lock and jam and break.

Skater Who Plays the Cello // Jon Merrill

do I need to explain this one????? c'mon. he's so believable as a skater kid and ALSO as someone who plays the cello. the duality of man is contained in jonny "vibes" merrill.

(tbc)

[lboogie1906]

Patti Austin (August 10, 1950) is an R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter.

When she was four years old, she performed at the Apollo Theater. As a teenager, she recorded commercial jingles and worked as a session singer in soul and R&B. She had an R&B hit in 1969 with “Family Tree”. She sang backing vocals on Paul Simon’s 1975 number-one hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. The jazz label CTI released her debut album, End of a Rainbow, in 1976. She sang “The Closer I Get to You” for Tom Browne’s album Browne Sugar, a duet with Michael Jackson for his album Off the Wall, and a duet with George Benson on “Moody’s Mood for Love”. After singing on Quincy Jones’s album The Dude, she signed a contract with his record label, Qwest, which released Every Home Should Have One with “Baby, Come to Me”, a duet with James Ingram that became a #1 hit on the Billboard magazine pop chart. A second duet with Ingram, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing”, appeared on the soundtrack to Best Friends (1982). GRP released her album Love Is Gonna Getcha, which contained the singles “Good in Love” and “Through the Test of Time”. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[transformers-autobotsrollout]

Cybertron. A planet that has been embroiled in war seemingly since its creation. This is the stage on which our story is set. 

We open on a gladiator named “Powered Convoy” getting whaled on Strong-Bot. While he manages to get the upper hand and wins the match, as he leaves, we can tell that he doesn’t enjoy what he does for a living. He drives back to the docks where he lives, which are in pretty bad shape, but his face lights up when he sees Ratchet and she tells him about her new job.

The next day, Ratchet asks Optronix what paint job she should have on her first day working at Iacon City’s science guild (Oppy's got his arm covering his eyes, he is polite) and Magnum comes in asking Optronix how his last match went. Typical wholesome, slice of life robots. When Ratchet drives up to the citadel, Optronix takes a sharp left to talk to his... correspondent. It's not Megatron, but Sentinel Prime who was a like-minded 'Bot who believed in his words.

Sentinel explains that while he can’t directly bring petitions to Alpha Trion, he has gained an audience with Megatron, who’s most certainly the closest and most powerful they’ve got to someone who approves of off-planet exploration. While Optronix is nothing but firm in his beliefs, he’s unable to articulate what he wants in front of a crowd (in his words: “I’m bad with speeches”), so he asks Sentinel to speak for him. 

Sentinel agrees, and then we hard cut to Megatron in a testing facility, currently watching Doubledealer and Shatter show off the destructive capabilities of a massive fusion cannon. A little on the nose, but I think it’s good.

Ratchet’s first day doesn't go as well as she’d hoped. She gets mocked for being lower-class by the elite guard, ignored and pushed around by the more experienced medics and scientists, and by lunch she’s wishing she never left home. And then she meets Ariel Pax, a cadet in the Elite Guard. Ariel treats her with kindness that she’s endlessly grateful to finally get from these city-bots, and she spends the rest of the day with her.

The summit is treated more like a daytrip for Megatron. Megatron only talks to Sentinel, period, and he spends most of the time talking about his own opinions wherever Sentinel tries to discuss the content of Optronix's words. Optronix still doesn't talk much due to his fear of speaking in public, but he does his best to keep up. 

Anyways, they have lunch at a typical fancy place with 56 forks and Megatron is still only talking to Sentinel. Sentinel's trying to recall Op's words as best as he can, but Optronix has had enough and finally speaks his mind, shocking them both.

Megatron and Sentinel both leave for the train, but Optronix realizes that Megatron... "forgot" to tip, so he sticks behind. On the train, Sentinel admits that it was Optronix who had a solid plan on societal reform, but Megatron has his own opinions on Optimus... namely that he's "too naive" to be a leader and that it'll take a miracle to convince him otherwise.

The train suddenly lurches forward without Optronix on it. Poor guy has to cling to the caboose just in the nick of time as Sentinel and Megatron inside try to figure out what's going on. A masked individual suddenly jumps the two, and while they outclass him physically, he's able to use magnetic fields and well-placed knockout gas to take them out. 

Optronix pries his way into the train and finds it full of explosives that he has no idea how to defuse... so he calls out for Sentinel and Megatron, and gets no response. They're a little tied up at the moment (HA).

Megatron isn't amused and dryly asks how much the intruder plans on ransoming them for. The response he gets is that they're not getting ransomed at all; they're going to be blown to smithereens from the dozens of EMP bombs he's planted all over the train. 

Significantly more freaked out, Sentinel tries to reason with him. But the intruder says that there's nothing that Sentinel or Megatron or any of those hoity-toity bluebloods can do to stop this, and that they've had it coming for a while. Megatron laughs and tears into the bot.

“My fault? You think this is my fault? Oh, that is rich!

You’re one of those bots, aren’t you? Let me explain something. I’ve worked my way to the top with everything going against me, with everyone I’d known being sent offline or segfaulting their RAMS to the point of inoperability, and I’m still standing. I struggled for my position in life, and you have the audacity to accuse me of being undeserving? 

Think about it. Real hard. What have you done to deserve your lot in life? That’s what I thought. You’ve done nothing. Nothing at all! You’ve lazed away in your rusting husk of a chassis and decided to punch up for the fun of it. That's why you blame me, you blame everyone that’s actively tried to be an operating member of society out of your own jealousy and guilt. You sat as you were, a worthless lay-about, and you take it out on people you deem your 'oppressors'.

It isn’t my fault that you’ve gone nowhere, it’s the fault of an ill-mannered, ill-tempered, functionless, underdeveloped cog with nothing better to do than to beg for scrap metal instead of-!”

The stranger tapes his mouth shut and is like “lol figures” while Sentinel tries to be all “you’re never gonna get away with this, Optronix is gonna getcha” and the guy noticeably freezes up. Optronix is about halfway to where they are when he’s ambushed. 

Thankfully, he manages to knock the guy out of the emergency door, and they have your typical battle atop a train. Optronix notices something familiar about the magnetic attacks he uses and breaks the mask he'd been wearing. It’s his old friend Windcharger, who’s quite unhappy about Optronix "becoming Megatron’s new bodyguard."

Optronix explains that it’s a misunderstanding, and Windcharger goes on about how people like Megatron are the reasons that Optronix was forced into fighting in the first place; Optronix’s spark is in the right place but he aims too high. Understanding Windcharger’s frustrations, he at least tries to talk him down from destroying the train as it’ll not only kill him, but it’ll kill all the innocent bots waiting at the station. Just as Windcharger seems like he’s about to relent… Megatron blasts him in the chest.

Sentinel’s sentries aided in their escape and defused all the bombs. Optronix soberly brings Windcharger’s shell back inside as Megatron thanks him for the rescue. As they pull into the station, Megatron spins his tale about Optronix’s genius and his defeat of a dangerous terrorist, all the while he’s really in the back, stabilizing Windcharger. 

He asks why Optronix didn’t leave him to die, to which Optronix tells him that it’s his second chance to make a change that involves less mayhem. He can tell that Windcharger is passionate about his cause and he hopes he’ll make the right choice. Windcharger flees through a trap door and Optronix steps outside to face the reporters.

Megatron’s busy talking about how his life was saved by Optronix and Sentinel Prime and how whomever was responsible for this is in custody (HA). Except this bit's on a screen that Magnum is watching, and he asks Optronix how much of it's true. Sentinel answers for Optronix that Megatron greatly exaggerated a lot of it, but the basic gist is true.

Optronix says that he feels uncomfortable at the amount of "deception" that's being used to fill in the gaps, even with Sentinel reassuring him that " it doesn't matter if he agrees with us or not, just as long as our message has a platform".

Evidently Optimus isn't too jazzed about that. He mumbles something under his breath about how blunt honesty is more effective than convincing lies. Magnum, Optronix, and Sentinel get off the shuttle and arrive at the Dancitron. Sentinel insists that "Primes don't party" but he's dragged in by a delighted Ratchet, who's celebrating her first week as a proper doctor. 

At the Dancitron, Ariel Pax and Ratchet dance together while Optronix talks more about his beliefs with Magnum and wonders if he's aiming too high. Yes, he wants Cybetronian culture to branch out and share with the universe, but Sentinel's words have made him worry if he should be trying to fix their society first and focus on other planets later. Optronix tells Magnum "I never wanted this vision of mine to be a transaction".

The next day, Optronix meets Jetfire and his envoy of Protectobot Elite guardsmen for the first time. He was Ariel Pax's commanding officer in the Elite Guard and a brash, overconfident jerk that didn't really mesh too well with 'civilians' and was very blunt and vocal about his opinions. Optronix could NOT stand him at first and their first meeting ended with Optronix calling him a "brute".

Megatron talks to Flipsides and Shockwave about what really happened in his massive garden. He admits that while he is impressed with Optronix, he'd "prefer to keep my business partners at arms' length" and that gives him an idea. 

Megatron calls Sentinel and requests a meeting with him. When he arrives, he offers him a job at Tarn Industries and tells him he'll upgrade all his sentries free of charge. Sentinel refuses because he already has his job as a Station Master and he doesn't want his sentries tampered with. Megatron's pissed but concedes.

Ratchet learns to fight from Ariel and confides in her that she’s always hated violence from first hand seeing Optronix’s injuries from the gladiator matches and patching up her fellow dock workers. 

Magnum is in Metroplex, trying to get their leader Gravitas to back Optronix's words. He never really trusted Megatron or his company and he just wants the best for his best friend. But Gravitas won't listen; he's clearly preoccupied with something else. Whatever Magnum tries to say, he's shut down or blocked off with xenophobic statements that he knows'll only drag them offtopic if he tries to contest them. 

Gravitas at least has the decency to tell Magnum that he clearly has a good head on his shoulders... which is why he's been chosen to be the next leader of Metroplex. Turns out Gravitas has a week to live because of the noncommunicable rust plague inside his body, yaaaaaaaaay. 

Magnum takes this poorly and panics to Optronix that he doesn't think he'll be ready for all the power that comes with this position. Optronix, equally stressed, proceeds to become even more stressed.

Optronix and Sentinel finally get Alpha Trion and the rest of the Cybertronic Alliance to hear them out. Sentinel hasn't told Optronix anything about Megatron offering him a job nor what he heard when he was tied to him (remember Chapter 1 where Megatron was a jackass to Windcharger?)  and Optronix is incredibly nervous about speaking in front of a crowd. Megatron has made it clear through pretty much everything he's done that he's got something else planned for Optronix's idea, but they've no idea how he's going to spin it.

Megatron opens with the basic gist of Optronix's ideals; their culture is stagnating and their world needs a cultural reset. All's good so far until Megatron unveils his idea: to colonize and conquer other planets. Using their resources and spreading the name of Cybertron far and wide, establishing trade centers for partners, becoming stronger and stronger through political allies and bringing Cybertron into a new Golden Age. 

Optronix's worst fears have come to light. Megatron's made it all about himself and is treating the entire thing as a business proposition. Worse yet, the members of the council and even some bots in the crowd are agreeing with him. 

So he puts his foot down and tells Megatron that this wasn't what he'd intended, that he's spinning this concept wildly into something that benefits only him and not the whole of society.

Megatron responds thusly. "You came to me and asked if I could help you speak. I strongly suggest you recall why you couldn't do it yourself."

Optronix is silent.

Megatron asks "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Yes."

With that, Megatron takes a right hook to the face and goes sailing into the wall. Now that he's been sufficiently silenced, Optronix tells the council his ideas. 

Cybertron should branch out with peace and support, not with ideas of conquering and monetary gain from these people. They can share their cultures and learn new things from alien lifeforms without forcing their ways of life onto them. How every sapient being in the universe deserves freedom and the right to education.

"Don't you see? There's no need for senseless violence-" 

He's cut off when Megatron tackles him to the ground. 

As the two of them begin to fight, the entire house devolves into chaos, with verbal and physical blows flying left and right. Everything has gone to hell, and it's not made any better when Alpha Trion calls order in the court with his "equalizing staff". Alpha Trion declares the two mentally unfit on the spot and orders them both to have "system purges" in order to ��calm their circuitry.” 

Megatron is royally pissed at having his name dragged through the mud, and as the two are taken away by Elite Guardsmen, loudly blames Optronix for the whole thing. Jetfire outright refuses to perform a system purge on them despite what Alpha Trion says, taking Optronix by surprise. While the alternative treatment (a nanite bath) isn't exactly enjoyable itself, it's far less invasive than the former.

A month passes. Optronix feels horrid. All his intentions blew up in his face and this, if any, is a good time for Sentinel to tell Optronix the truth. Optronix isn't shocked at all, but he asks why Sentinel didn't tell him sooner. Sentinel tells him that he didn't want to discourage him because Megatron was the closest thing they had to a foot in the door. This leads to an argument where Optronix asks Sentinel if it was worth siding with a xenophobe just for the sake of popularity. 

After quite a bit of nasty insults are lobbed back and forth, Sentinel leaves and Optronix folds in on himself.

Megatron visits one of his own subsidiary factories in Velocitron. He's eerily serene as he speaks with the head engineer of the building, Dirt Boss. Once Dirt Boss tells him everything he needs to know and asks him why he's in such a good mood, Megatron smiles and tells him he's got a new lease on life. 

He proceeds to shoot Dirt Boss point blank and rigs the building to explode, knowing fully well that the radius will decimate the nearby train station and send one hell of a message. As Ratchet and Magnum lead Optronix outside to try and cheer him up, they see a massive billowing black smoke cloud in the distance…

Optronix and Magnum aid in the horrible aftermath of the meltdown on Velocitron. Megatron is being shady and keeps making references to an “ ideological terrorist attack” with roughly zero proof. Magnus and Override have a sweet little moment of romantic tension as they knock into each other. Optronix remains cautious about the attack as Ratchet snarks about how Megatron is still bitter about having his brain waves scrambled… which never actually happened since you know, Jetfire’s gayness saved Optimus and also Megatron by proxy.

Optronix and Ratchet enter Iacon’s Hall of records and read up on Cybertronian history to try and figure out how to get their own movement off the ground. Optronix discovers information about some of the primes and realizes that a lot of them share the same morals and views that he does. He's beside himself as he keeps scampering back to grab more and more datapads about all the primes as Ratchet watches. Optronix is overwhelmed with joy that he's not alone... and then he sees a symbol emblazoned across one of their chests.

An ancient symbol, one that means "quick-thinker”. Autobot. And this gives Optronix an idea. Optronix throws a match for the first time in his career, and everyone can tell. He uses the assembled crowd to better discuss his beliefs and explain the future he wants for Cybertron. And surprisingly enough... he gets someone that listens to him. Namely, his OPPONENT, Impactor. This little spark of hope is enough to convince him that he's still got a fighting chance.

A few days later, Magnum is getting ready for the official announcement that he’ll become the next leader of Metroplex, following Gravitas’ death. He’s distracted from these proceedings when an episode of Andromeda Explains It All airs with Megatron as its special guest, a mere half-hour before he’s scheduled to appear. Magnum immediately tells the guards to cancel the announcement out of fear for the pro-Autobot civilians in the crowd.

Optronix is having his own problems with being an Autobot as he has to help an Autobot supporter being hounded by two punks calling themselves Decepticons, one of which accuses Optronix of being “pro-invasion”. They quickly shut up and book it when Jetfire and Sentinel appear. Still burned by Sentinel’s betrayal, Optronix is cold towards the both of them, but Sentinel begs Optimus to hear them out. Namely, Jetfire thinks that Megatron intentionally sabotaged his own factory to incite violence towards them and their supporters. So Optronix and Sentinel put aside their annoyances towards each other and focus on the true villain, Megatron.

The Decepticons proceed to cause more chaos across multiple cities as the Autobots clash with them. Ariel and Ratchet argue about the rising tensions, with Ariel refusing to spur the wrath and endanger more people by outwardly supporting the Autobots as an Elite Guard member, and Ratchet contesting that Ariel knows that standing up for what she believes in is more important.

Jetfire and Sentinel (who is entirely unwilling) burst into Megatron’s private airship with all their evidence. Jetfire threatens to arrest Megatron right there on the spot. The two Autobots are promptly dragged out of the ship by reactionary Decepticons. The Decepticons take Sentinel hostage and attempt to execute him where he stands, but The Elite Guard is there to stop them.

Iacon is set ablaze by the Decepticons and the heroes rush to the citadel. Alpha Trion's all like "oh okay huh looks like the incredibly invasive mental reprogramming backfired, who'da thunk". We and Optronix of course know that they never were reprogrammed because Jetfire saved them, but being that Jetfire is unconscious, he can't exactly explain that to him.

Alpha Trion then begs Optronix to protect the Matrix, thinking Megatron's going to steal it and use it's power against him out of vengeance. Optronix agrees, on the condition that Alpha Trion doesn't hold himself up in the citadel and helps his friends get innocents inside.

So Megatron shows up a little later on, Alpha Trion begs for mercy and apologizes for what he did to them both, but guess what! Megs doesn't care! He's just here to kill Alpha Trion and leave because he can blame it on the riots exploding across the city. He doesn't give two damns about the Matrix.

"I'm not going to kill you. Gravity should do most of the work."

But Optronix shows up to save the day, the Matrix around his neck on a chain. Megatron weighs his options on who he wants to kill more and Optronix quite literally has a target painted on his chest, so he takes the bait and chases him away from the citadel, in turn protecting everyone that was packed within.

The Elite Guard and Ratchet successfully get a barrier around the citadel, only for Inferno to suddenly reveal his true colors as a Decepticon double-agent. He stabs Ariel’s optic out and tries to off her while she’s wounded. Ratchet snaps. She not only tackles him to the ground, but she successfully tears his arm out of its socket and beats him with it. Windblade is barely able to get her off him, but the damage is done in more ways than one.

Once they're well and far away from the center of town, Optronix tries to open the Matrix and blast Megatron into next Tuesday. This fails and Megatron mocks him before blasting him (and the ground beneath his feet), and Optronix falls through an entire building, seemingly offlining him. Jetfire's second wind comes in and he starts whaling on Megatron as Optronix lies in the basement of the building quietly pleading for the Matrix to open.

His grip falters, he slumps over, and in true LIGHT OUR DARKEST HOUR fashion, the Matrix transes Optronix's gender and boosts his lightning powers, giving him the strength to soundly body Megatron. Megatron falls in front of the Decepticons and has to be carried away by Strikha, who orders a full retreat.

Optronix returns to the citadel with both Jetfire and the Matrix in his possession. Alpha Trion is shocked, but his friends are nothing but overjoyed. It's Jetfire who comes up with the name Optimus by way of calling his transformation "an optimal solution".

Ariel awakens missing her optic and berates Sentinel for not knowing what he was doing, only to change her tune when she hears Ratchet's the one that saved her life. Ratchet weakly smiles as Ariel thanks her.

Alpha Trion is all set to set up a grand ceremony, but Optimus tells him to read the room and says there will be no celebrations until the city is rebuilt. He wonders to himself if he's deserving of this power and if he's just as culpable of starting this mess as Megatron is. He looks around and sees the company he's kept... and reassures himself that there's still goodness in the world, and the best they can do right now is pick up the pieces.

[defleurtradingco]

Epoch- Carnivore

(Previous: Growl, Next: Paranoid)

"I'm tellin' ya Solaina I looked high n' somewhat low an' I can't find a scrap or any hint'a who he even might be. But I mean… c'mon if'e was out in th' desert all alone whadda YOU think?"

"I would not be so hasty into jumping to conclusions. He may have not seen the ghouls who reside out there.”

"Oh I don' doubt he's seen 'em. Kin'a hard not to… Specially if they start chasin’ ya an’ hootin’ n’ hollerin’..."

It started with a voice. The rest of the world began to fade back in after that.

Maybe it was the television. Or the radio... or maybe whoever the owner of the voice was was in the bathroom. It sounded slightly echo-y like that... 

They were talking to someone... or to themselves...

Maybe the phone...

His head pounded as though someone were jabbing their thumbs against the top of his eyeballs. With a groan, he brought his sore arms up to his face to cover his eyes.

Soft...he was laying on blankets. And sheets. It had to be a mattress. It was springy, and far better than the ground.

The sudden wave of exhaustion passed quickly however and he sat up with a sudden jolt, loaded with adrenaline.

The room spiraled and swirled and everything spun and wobbled in a blurry mess of lights, shadows and warm colors until it didn't anymore.

There was a lamp next to him on an end table beside the bed. Across from him was a dresser and a TV sitting on it and tuned into the local news station. There was another wardrobe next to that… a small table next to that… it looked like a hotel room.

Or a motel. Whichever one.

It smelled like one too, save for the faint scent of rot lingering in the air.

The man pulled his legs in so that we was practically hugging them as he glanced around, still in a daze.

He wiggled his toes. Where the heck was his other shoe? He only had one.

Before he could bring himself to wonder any more, he inhaled sharply and slid to the edge of the bed in an attempt to get back on his feet. As soon as he swung his legs over the side, he paused, squeezing his eyes shut. They ached horribly at first as though he’d just run a marathon only minutes ago, but it wasn't enough to stop him.

As soon as he moved a few paces forward, the sound of a door knob jiggling from off to the side of the room made him stop cold in his tracks.

Boot steps came out of the bathroom and onto the carpet, revealing a very surprised dead man.

Monte’s mouth hung open a little lower than usual as his hand quickly flew towards the bandanna he wore around his neck. He had to hide his face. But by then, his guest had already seen him. "Now hold on-" He dropped his phone as a lamp came flying at him, that he thankfully caught. "Son of a BITCH- HEY SI'DOWN-"

The man did not. He made a beeline for the door only to discover it was locked. In a panic he hadn't the sense to even open it (even if the lock was RIGHT there,) and instead whirled around and hissed, revealing a few teeth that were far too sharp for them to be normal. "Get AWAY." He bellowed. 

Monte fumbled with the lamp briefly and set it down, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace. "I ain' gonna do nothin' to ya. Who’dya think found yer ass out there in th' middle of th' desert, huh??"

The question only earned him another hiss.

"Fuck'sake...ok, uh…"

What could possibly sate an angry ...cat? man?? Monte didn’t know if he was ACTUALLY a cat. But he sure acted like one. And his eyes were very reminiscent of one as they reflected the light back towards him.

"Want somethin' ta eat? Got like uh… a chicken sandwich from earlier."

Saying so seemed to snap the cat-man out of his immediate rage. "...What???"

"Yeah, I got hungry but then I like… forgot." Monte backed away towards the table and reached for the paper bag that sat upon it, holding it up briefly before tossing it at the cat-man's general direction.

He caught and rifled through it, pulling out the promised chicken sandwich and turning it over a few times before scarfing it down like a wild animal.

"Hey, hey!! Easy there carnivore!! Ya got a name??"

The cat-man paused and glared at him mid-chew. Then he swallowed. "Grayson."

"Ahuh," Monte watched him a moment longer, making some sort of slight gesture for him to continue. "Grayson…"

"Randal."

"Huh... Well ok then… now listen, you in some kinda trouble or somethin'? Cuz I mean, I know some people who can getcha outta it provided ya ain't a crazy murderer or somethin' else creepy or nasty."

Grayson continued to glare at him, defensively more than anything. "No. I'm just an over-gloried courier.”

"Oh. Uh… right. So uh, you a Were too? Since ya got’em teeth n' all…"

"No. I'm not."

"No?" What did he mean no? He had sharp fangs that seemed more animal-like than human. His eyes were bright green, even in the bits that should have been white. They had slit pupils, his hair was this obnoxious color of red that no real redhead could ever have, he was scruffy, his nails were more akin to claws in that they were semi-sharp, and the bruises were already mostly healed.

He had to have been a Were.

"Well, whatever ya are, pretty sure ya know what the Other Side is an' all that jazz. A ghoul led me ta where you were. Lucky fer you they didn't feel like pickin' yer bones clean." Monte watched as Grayson crumpled up the paper bag and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

"I need to be in Vegas.” He said suddenly, “I was on my way there. For work."

"Vegas? Yer a fuck long way's off friend."

"I know." He grumbled.

Monte held his hands up again. "Easy, easy. Look, my boss lady just wants ta know if yer doin' aright since she helps folk like us alla time. And I did find ya while on the job, so, technically I gotta report that anyway."

“Who’s your boss??”

“Fine lady by the name of DeFleur, I’m sure you know of’em. Who doesn’t, amiright?” Grayson blinked a few times in surprise, before his eyes darted around the room. He was thinking. Or so Monte assumed.

“...She’s real good at helpin’, just sayin’. I mean, I feel kinda bad ya were out there in the dirt n’ such. So I mean...I dunno.”

Monte reached into his pocket for his phone as Gray came back around to the edge of the bed to sit and think some more. Every so often the deader glanced up at him, waiting for a reaction.

Guy woke up, said his name was Grayson Randal. Is he on database anywhere?

I do not know. I will have to check. Hopefully I can find some lead for you soon. Keep an eye on him.

Got it.

“So, Gray,” Monte cleared his throat unnecessarily, “I’m just about done here, an’ was gonna head back ta Kentucky n’ all that, but I mean... if ya need a ride ta get somewhere I s’ppose I don’t mind droppin’ ya off, ain’ like Nevada’s all that far if I pull an overnighter or somethin’. Maybe not even that.” It was late. The highways wouldn’t be jam packed, in all likelihood, but strange things happened out on the desert roads. “But only if it’s a super emergency. Elsewise, I can take ya there in th’ mornin’. We’ll probably be there by evenin’ tomorrow or even earlier.”

Grayson sighed, letting his shoulders drop. “It’s not an emergency. But, if you could, that’d be cool,”

“Guess that’s a word fer it. ...Why don’cha get some sleep an’ I’ll figure it out from there. We’ll call it a freebie this time, kid.” Grayson didn’t look very old. He looked to be around Ray’s age, for what it was worth. But, then again Weres (or ‘Not-Weres’) never did display signs of aging very well. Lucky them.

Without really waiting for another answer, the zombie shrugged once more. “I’m gonna step outside fer a smoke. Be back in a bit.”

The cat-man eyed him warily, but said nothing and instead only nodded, returning his gaze to the floor.

Monte lingered at the doorway for a moment longer before heading out to the motel parking lot.

“I sure hope she calls me back,” He muttered as he lit a half-used cigarette from that morning.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Twenty-Four: Something New ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura ] [ SasuHina, SakuIno ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

“Aw, c’mon Sasuke!”

“There’s no point.”

“It’s a one credit class! Just one hour, once a week. That’s it! It’ll get you outta your dorm, and up and movin’, huh? You gotta try new things, sometimes!”

Scowling as he ducks out from under Naruto’s arm, Sasuke rebukes, “You just don’t want to do a stupid class by yourself.”

“It’s not stupid!”

“Then why pester me about it?”

“Cuz I really do want you to do it!” The blond nudges an elbow into his friend’s ribs, wiggling his eyebrows. “Mostly because I heard it’s a really good place to meet girls! They never have enough guys for partners, so -”

“Naruto, I’m not looking for a girlfriend right now. I’m in uni to study, not get laid.”

“Psh, that puts you in the minority. I think you need a good shag - maybe you wouldn’t be so grumpy and high-strung all the time, huh?”

Color flushes across Sasuke’s nose. “You’re stupidly crude, Naruto...I’m not high-strung!”

A brow perks. “Then why are you being so stubborn?”

“Because a business degree doesn’t require a dance class, Naruto. It’s a waste of my time!”

“It’s just one quarter, Sasuke. It’ll get you out of your dorm for something other than number crunching! And getcha a little exercise...maybe you’ll even have a little fun, huh? C’mooon, ya bastard!”

“Oh hell, fine! Just shut up and leave me alone, will you?” A hand pushes against Naruto’s face as the blond cackles, swerving aside and clearly unbothered. “But if it starts interfering with my grades, I’m dropping it.”

“Okay, okay! But you gotta give it at least a few weeks, got it?”

“Whatever.”

Finally splitting paths, Sasuke stuffs hands in his pockets and heads back toward his dorm. He’s lucked out with a single this year, making his way in and shutting the door. With a flop, he collapses atop the mattress and slings an arm over his eyes.

...he’s going to regret this, isn’t he? Try something new, Naruto says...like it’s just that easy. Forearm moving up to his brow, Sasuke stares at his ceiling. He was hoping to escape his four years of classes without having to dip too much into the social aspect. It was bad enough Naruto got into the same school on a sports scholarship. He’s hardly had a day where his friend from high school hasn’t just so happened to bump into him. Now he’s gonna take a class where he has to actually interact with other students?

Ugh.

Well...this isn’t getting my homework done. Sitting up, Sasuke runs a hand back through his hair before dragging himself to his desk, clicking on a lamp and fetching his laptop.

It’s gonna be a long night.

.oOo.

After a brief Spring break (spent back home with his parents), Sasuke starts his first week back with a dreading in the back of his mind. Come Friday, he’ll finally have to subject himself to Naruto’s hare-brained scheme. He’s pretty much already made up his mind: he’ll be dropping it after two classes. Enough to keep to his word of trying it, and hopefully short enough he’s not too disrupted or annoyed. At the tail end of the week, he makes his way to a part of the campus he’s never been to before: the more...artsy part. Music, dance, theater: those sorts of classes. Looking to the other students he passes by, sure he sticks out like a sore thumb (obviously not one of them), he hurries along to the proper hall, and then the proper room.

Or perhaps “theater” is more like it. He finds himself in a recital hall, complete with a stage. Several other students linger around, and Sasuke can’t help but notice they look like him: meaning someone clearly not here as part of a major. Just...a one-off class.

And Naruto was right: there’s a significant majority of women compared to men.

Speaking of Naruto...he’s not here yet.

...if he stood me up to take this class alone, I’m gonna string him up from a flagpole.

Several of the people already inside glance up as he enters, but thankfully none keep staring. A great majority look just as unsure and almost regretful. Only a handful look genuinely excited. And that includes a pair of women clearly trying to enthuse a third.

“It’ll be fun! I promise - I have a cousin who took this class, she loved it. It’s nothing to difficult, really. Just a few basic dances. It’s super chill.”

“Yeah, for sure! You can totally just take it easy, Hinata. We’ll be here with you!”

Wringing her hands nervously, the dark-haired third wheel gives a nod. “...okay.”

“Okay class!” Stepping out another door, a woman with black waves up in a messy bun and ruddy brown eyes calls their attention. “We’ll be starting in a few minutes! Go ahead and partner up - we’re going to hop right into things.”

Sasuke stiffens. Wait, what -?

“Wait! Hold on!” Bursting through a door, Naruto immediately draws all eyes at his exuberant entrance. “Don’t - don’t start yet!”

The professor perks a brow. “...we haven’t. Find a partner.”

Looking to Sasuke, Naruto wiggles his brows.

“No.”

“Aw, but -!”

“I said no.”

Already everyone else has squared up. The blonde and...pink-haired? women from before quickly latch together, leaving their friend clearly out by herself and scrambling.

Sasuke makes up his mind.

Crossing the room and ignoring Naruto’s call, he steps up beside her. “Hey.”

A startled sound escapes her. “Uh -?”

“Look, you seem just as uneasy as me. We can suffer together.”

Large pale eyes blink at him. “Um...o-okay.”

He nods to her friends. “They drag you here?”

“...y-yeah. Something about...getting out of my dorm and -”

“- trying something new?”

Another blink, and then she actually laughs. “You must have heard the same…?”

“Yeah, from the blond idiot who made a spectacular debut just as we started.”

“He, um...a friend of yours?”

“Somehow, yeah.”

“O-oh!”

“...why?”

Hinata, as she’s apparently called, flushes pink. “I just, um...w-well, my friends, they’re -”

“They a pair?”

“Y...yes.”

“Well I’m definitely not that idiot’s boyfriend. He couldn’t handle this, anyway.”

She laughs again, and Sasuke can’t help a small smile. Where...did that come from? He doesn’t make jokes, not with strangers. He’ll crack something dry with Naruto, and he quips with his brother...but -?

“All right everyone, got a partner?”

There’s a murmur of assent. Even Naruto has one, a girl with matching brown-haired buns.

“Good! I’ve got my husband here with me - we’ll show you the first set of steps. But first, a little something to loosen everyone up. We’re going to take five minutes to just freestyle and get the nerves out. Remember, this is a casual class: not a competition. We’re all here to have fun, and learn a few dance moves. We’ll have a few quizzes about trivia, but honestly this class is pretty laid back.” A manicured nail pushes the play button on an older-style CD player, and random jazz music starts playing through a set of speakers.

“...uh…”

Everyone seems to look around before slowly breaking into random shuffling and jerking. Glancing to Hinata, Sasuke shrugs and shifts his weight a bit, bobbing with the beat. She tries to do the same, giggling a bit as they slowly gain a little confidence...or lose a little care for reputations.

Then the professor - Kurenai, she asks to be called - starts lining everyone up in front of a wall of mirrors before standing with her spouse, Asuma. “Now, take this first position.”

Everyone obeys to varying levels of success.

“We’ll start with four bars of movement.”

And so it goes. The eldest pair demonstrate a few steps, have the students mimic to the best of their ability, and then repeat until they get through an entire song.

“Obviously, this is just like the sketch of a drawing. We’ve got some basics down, but it needs cleaning up. Polishing. Color. I’ll be putting up a video of this on the class digital board you can watch and practice if you want in your spare time, but it’s not required. For now, we’ll repeat the first section a few times until class is over.”

Watching the instructors, Sasuke does his best to fumble through the movements. So far, he has a good sense of rhythm, but not nearly enough certainty in himself to progress. Hinata too stumbles through the paces, her grip dainty on his hands.

“Here,” Kurenai cuts in as the other pairs practice. “You need to be more firm.” She takes Sasuke in her grip, jerking him forward with a small yelp. “You’re the leader! Show her where to go, how to go - she’s depending on you!”

In turn, Asuma sees to Hinata. “You’ve got to hang on, and keep up. Hesitate, and you’ll throw the both of you off.”

Clearly each flustered, the students eye one another before taking up their posture again. Swallowing, Sasuke does his best to firm up his grip. Eyes flickering between his feet and Hinata’s face, he takes them through the first few bars again, and Hinata follows.

“Good, very good! Much better.” With that, the elder pair move to another.

Looking to one another sheepishly, Hinata and Sasuke both chuckle nervously. “That...that was better,” Hinata notes.

“Yeah…”

“All right, that’ll do it for today! See you all same time, same place next week!”

With this being his last class of the day, Sasuke finds himself walking to the door with his new ‘partner’. “I’ll admit...t-that was more fun than I feared.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad.”

“Um...would you...want to be partners again next time?”

Sasuke gives her a glance, a bit taken aback. “...uh, sure.”

“...o-okay! Oh, I...I didn’t get your name…?”

“Sasuke.”

“I’m Hinata! It’s...nice to meet you, Sasuke.”

“Likewise.”

Free of the building, they find themselves going their separate ways. Watching her go for a bit, Sasuke jostles, deadpanning as Naruto latches onto him again.

“Sooo…?”

“So?”

“How’d it go?”

“...fine, I guess.”

“Ha! Told you you’d like it!”

“Whatever…” Maybe he did like it...but he won’t give Naruto the satisfaction.

...at least, not yet.

     PHEW, a wee bit earlier than I've been managing, haha! I need to work on my time management skills, whoops...      Anywho, a little modern action today, specifically college! A subject I know next to nothing about, so...here's hoping I winged it okay, haha! A friend talked once about a swing class she took in school, so...I thought we'd subject Sasuke to some dancing!      But I think he ended up enjoying himself ;3      Aaand that'll do it for today! Thanks for reading!

[bo-bo-bean]

Duo Tickles

"IIIIII'm gonna getcha~! IIIII'm gonna getcha~!" Dice sang this around the carnival as Cuphead and Mugman hid together behind a cotton candy wagon. They were both giggling, but holding their mouths closed the best they could. King Dice looked in the balloon pop stand, Beppj popping up, making Dice jump. "Heya Dice Rice!" "Gah!! Oh geez..." he sighed, holding his chest. "Nearly gave me a heart attack..." "Whatcha doing in these parts!? I thought you didn't like 'funny' business...!" Cuphead snickered at the joke, but clenched his teeth. "You're hilarious. I'm just looking for Cuphead and Mugman. Have you seen them?" "Ooh maybe I have! They're probably near the TEA ball game!" Mugman giggled, biting his tongue, but it was hard to keep it together. Dice heard this and smiled, looking back at Beppi. "Any other ideas where?" he replied with a smirk, eyeing the cotton candy stand. Beppi knew immediately what he was doing. They both slowly walked to the wagon. "I don't think they'd be in the haunted house. There would be no way they could HANDLE it!" Cuphead clamped his hands over his mouth. "Hmm perhaps you're right... perhaps on the STRAW ride?" Mugman let a few giggles slip, Cuphead holding his mouth for him, biting the inside of his cheeks. "Or perhaps they're..." Dice paused for affect, him and Beppi looking at each other before Beppi snatched Mugman, Dice carrying Cuphead. "Here!" They both smiled, triumphantly smiling at their plan. "Eek! No!" Mugman gasped, but immediately giggled as he felt Beppi dance his fingers on his sides. "Aah! Aahahaha!! Nohoho!" Cuphead gasped, realizing what Dice was about to do. "W-wait!! Can't we talk about this!?" Dice smiled and shook his head, lifting Cuphead so that his belly was right in front of his face. "Wait!! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Dice blew a raspberry over his belly, Cuphead kicking his legs, throwing his head back. "Tickle tickle tickle!" Beppi snickered, now carrying Mugman like a baby and digging his fingers into his belly. He then took off Mugman's shoes and grabbed onto his ankles, Mugman hanging upside down. Then, one by one, Beppi scratched under each toe. "Eenie meenie miney moe! Catch a muggy by the toe...!" "PleeHEEHEEHEE!! Wahahahait!! No!! Please!!! Hahaha!!" "If he laughs, DON'T let him go, eenie meenie miney moe!" He scribbled his fingers all over his soles, Mugman squealing and holding his sides. Meanwhile, Dice was holding Cuphead as he swirled his finger into Cuphead's bellybutton. He was already driven to tears. "MYEEHEEHEE!! DIHIHIHAHAHAHACE!!!" "Mmmmyeeeeees?" he trilled, pinching his left hip. "Meep!! Nohohohahaha!! Mercy!! Merceeheehee!!" Dice took this as going too far and stopped, Beppi following. They laid the two boys on the ground, them panting and giggling. "Boy! You both look tuckered out!" Beppi laughed, patting their backs. "Heh, I should probably get them home," Dice smiled, picking them up. "Kettle can get real worried if they're gone past their curfew." "So he can get real steamed up, eh?" Beppi posed some jazz hands. Dice let out a scoff as he walked off. "I guess you better not meddle with the kettle, eh!?" "Okay, I get it..." Dice nodded. "Don't wanna flip his lid, now do ya?" "You can stop now..." "You better-" "BEPPI!"

[deeafrotailmisstress]

Bacon and Bar Fights

((A super fun RP with Jazz makin’ friends with an ex-dominion dude called Braiden! :D It was super fun and @datela-vodenit​ is a super chill person so I highly recommend checking out their blog and art! Hope you have fun reading this as much as I did RPing it!))

Braiden Sabius sat down at the bar, tired from a long day of traveling, waving to the bartender, “A strong one for me.”

He only had a moment to enjoy the silence before a small woman with big hair kicked open the doors with a loud yell “Oi Barkeep,” she marched up to the bar carrying a big bag full of goods and with a wide smile ordered, “Biggest meatiest meal ya got on the menu for me, t’anks!”

She sat down with her feet kicking happily in the air, not really taking notice of the man beside her and simply looked around absorbing her environment. Braiden flinched for a moment, shifting his seat aways from  her, waiting for his drink. Unfortunately for him Jazz noticed his movement from the corner of her eye and snuck a peek at him before she asked with a grin, “Hey, ya gonna eat dat?”

Braiden looked at the plate of cheese the woman was pointing to; it looked like it had been sitting out for a while. He shook his head, “Uh, I wouldn’t even touch that. That’s got ‘you’re going to have a terrible night’ written all over it.”

The barkeep finally slid him his drink and Braiden quickly took a sip - avoiding eye contact. Jazz’s eyes widened worriedly. She shuffled away from the plate and closer to Braiden with a cringe, “Oh nono, I don’ want dat kinda night, I wanna celebrate tonight!”

She patted him on the shoulder roughly with a grateful dimpled smile, “T’anks fo’ da heads up! Ya gots a name fella?”

The weary traveler’s eyes widened as he flinched from the sudden contact. He shifted on the barstool in worry, “I-It’s um...Callen...The name’s Callen.”

Jazz’s smile, somehow, gre even wider as she repeated, “Callen...d’az a nice name!” She jutted out a hand, “Da name’s Jazz! Friends call me Jazzy or Shorty, enemies call me little shit, but ya can take ya pick, I don’ mind!”

The stranger looked at the hand for a moment then her face before he gave her a nervous smile and hesitantly shook it. “It’s nice to meet you Jazz.” He eyed the baggage she carried for a moment, “You seem to be on quite a journey. Is that all yours?”

Jazz hauled up her bag and patted it proudly, puffing her chest as she bragged, “Jus’ some stabbies and punchers I made meself. YA WANNA SEE?!” She asked and leaned in eagerly towards ‘Callen’.

He squinted in confusion. “Stabbies and punchers?” He mouthed to himself.

“Yeah! Stabbies -” The big haired woman reached into her bag and pulled out a long, silver dagger with a bronze handle that still looked unfinished, but very much sharp, “-And punchers!” She then reached in and pulled out a set of knuckle brasses of very discerning designs, one of them encased in very sharp spikes. Braiden looked on in shock at the sight. He carefully took the dagger from her and studied it.

“Not bad,” He grinned, tossing it around in his hand. “While I wouldn’t call them...ah, stabbies, it feels fairly comfortable. Still needs some work, the handle feels too light for its size.” He handed it back to her.

Jazz groaned exaggeratedly, “Ugh I knoow, Olka tells me I still needs ta work on the kinda metals I use, but I’m still pretty new to dis metal-workin’ shit. But!” She jutted a thumb behind her with an acomplished smirk “I gonna meet up wid some customers ‘round here who asked for my stabbies, an’ now Jazz gonna ‘treat mah self’~” She chirped the last phrase with a sing-song voice and gasped with glee when her plate finally arrived.

Braiden couldn’t help but snicker at her enthusiasm. “I’m sure whomever they are, they’ll be happy with their ‘stabbies and punchies’.” He eyed the food as well, but tried to resist stealing from her plate and took another sip of his drink to distract himself.

“Aw man, I sure hope so, but either way, Jazz gonna eat!” She rolled up her sleaves before grabbing a leg and took a bit bite. It became obvious very quickly this woman was not one to eat daintily in public as she ripped a large chunk of meat and skin aggressively off the bone before swallowing whole. “Whasha doin’ roundeez pars’ frien’?” She asked ‘Callen’ around a mouthful of food.

He wiped away a stray crumb off his face from Jazz’s talking and answered “Just stopping by for a treat. I’ll be out of here as soon as I finish this.” He took another sip of the drink and looked down at the table, tapping at it anxiously.

Jazz blinked owlishly at the tiny cup in his hand and swallowed around her large bite. “But. Ain’cha gonna get somethin’ else? How ya jus’ gonna have a tenny drink when it be feast time?!” She asked ignorantly with an incredulous wave of her hand.

Braiden raised a brow at her for a second. He reached into his pocket and slammed a few copper pieces on the table. “Unless there’s a menu item I’m not seeing that costs two pieces, the drink is the only thing I can get.”

The feasting lady froze as she finally connected the dots. “Ooooooh I’m a dick.” Jazz smacked herself on the forehead with a groan, muttering to herself “Stupid stupid stupid, gotta pay attention to dis shit!” Feeling bad that she had been eating so loudly next to him too, she sheepishly glanced at her companion. It wasn’t really in Jazz’s nature to ever share any of her food, but due to her own faults, she told herself to ‘suck it up’ and grabbed a napkin before shoving the smallest piece off of her plate to him.

Braiden eyed the leg, looking between her and the piece of food. He thought it would have been more polite to refuse the gesture, but at the sound of his growling stomach, he sighed and hastily took it; eating it as messily as Jazz did.

“...Damn, ya really was hungry!” She couldn’t help but laugh before getting back to her own plate and chirping “Ya welcome!”

The hungry traveler swallowed the rest of his food and wiped his mouth, a little embarrassed he had acted so barbarically. “Ahem, yes, thank you. I should’ve said that before.” Braiden looked around the bar once more, fidgeting with his drink glass. “I should probably get going now.”

Jazz didn’t notice his nervous demeanor and simply guffawed, “Whaa-? Da night’s still young dude, jus’ stay an’ chill a while! We’ll even have a treat day together, how about it!” She grinned excitedly and grabbed his shoulder “Jazz got da monies now, so I’ll jus getcha somethin’ too, tonight we’ll feast like food bros!” She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say before calling the Ekose for another plate.

Braiden was reduced to a stuttering mess at her sudden generosity, he tried to refuse her, “I-I can’t stay! I really have to go! There’s uhm p-places, yes places for me to-” Before he could get out another word, another plate of food was set down on the table. “To… To… ah…” He looked at the door then to the food. He mulled it over in his head and sat back down slowly, “Just one more round.”

His new ‘food bro’ snickered “Atta boy!” Jazz got another devious idea and smiled mischievously at Braiden. “Betcha I can finish deez faster than you!” She challenged and in her excitement slammed both her fists onto the counter at the ready.

Braiden eagerly smiled and matched her excitement, “You’re on!” He reached for the first piece when the doors to the bar swung open. He turned to glance at the newcomers and immediately turned away. “Shit…” He cursed.

Three men entered the bar, one short, one tall and the other average. They scoped the bar until their eyes landed on Jazz. The three of them slowly approached her and the average sized man greeted her, “Ah, are you our contact for tonight?”

Jazz quickly shoved a rib into her mouth and was about to gorge onto their feasts like there was no tomorrow until she whirled around and blinked at the man with a confused hum. An espernetic light bulb went off above her head however as she realized who these men were. She cheered a garble of words around her food with both fists raised into the air.

She quickly swallowed her food before waving her arm at the gents, grinning at her companion “Yo dude, it’s mah customers I was tellin’ ya ‘bout!”

Braiden continued to hide his face from this familiar group of men. He stood swiftly and turned in the direction of the bathroom, “Excuse me.” The hand of the leader caught his arm, “Hold on a second there, cowboy.”

“Why don’t you stick around,” The man said. “You might be of use to us.” He leaned in close to Braiden’s ear and whispered “Traitor.”

Jazz glanced at each of the men curiously, not sure who she should be focusing on “Ya know dees fellas Callen? Boy ya sure get around!”

All of the hunters laughed at Jazz, the shorter one asking Braiden “‘Callen’? Is that the name you gave her? You can come up with better names than that!”

The taller man growled eagerly and took up one of the ‘stabbies’ from Jazz’s bag. “Luckily you’re here, face ache. Perfect timing to be our test dummy!” The leader held out a hand “We’re not here to kill ‘im, just to collect him remember?”

The leader looked to Braiden and smirked “Look, you ready to come quietly or make this as difficult as last time, Sabius?”

Braiden glared at the men for a moment, then to Jazz, then back to the leader, “I’m no traitor, I’m not something to collect, and I’m definitely not going to let you poke me with that thing.” He looked to Jazz and motioned for her to leave, “Get out of here, I’m sorry this had to ruin your dinner…”

Jazz didn’t understand what was so funny until one of the men took out her blade and their interactions slowly started to make sense. Afterall, she was in an almost exact situation not too long ago. She quickly grabbed the hand holding her blade and grinned, “Woah woah fellas, now Jazz ain’ too familiar wid dis whole situation…”

She gestured vaguely to...Savius? It certainly didn’t sound like an Exile’s name. “But it sure ain’ no reason fo’ ya to start stabbin’ my food buddy over here.” Her grip on the man’s arm did not align with her friendly demeanor.

The taller man grabbed Jazz by the collar, “Stay out of this, contact!” The smaller one nodded, “Just take the money and do as the traitor says, get out!” The leader then took Braiden’s arm and started to pull at him, “We’re getting our money’s worth out of you, Sabius, whether ya like it or not!”

Jazz’s espernetics started to act up subconsciously as she clutched onto the hands of the taller gentlemen, but unfortunately tripped over as her feet were still caught on the stool’s legs, “Oi oi, donchu grab Jazz or I’mma beat your ass senseless!” Braiden attempted to grab at the empty plate of ribs and tried decking it over the lead hunter’s head, but it was swiftly swatted away as he pushed Braiden down onto the bar.

“Trying to be sneaky, eh?” The leader raised one of the daggers above Braiden’s head, “You’re smarter than this!” Braiden stomped on the lead hunter’s feet, making him drop the dagger. He kicked the fiend away, making him crash onto a table.

Jazz grinned wildly, “Aw yeah, IT’S ASS-KICKIN’ TIME!” She reared her head back and slammed it right into her captor’s before dropping down and shaking her head. It hurt her too, but hey, at least she was free! She whipped out both her machetes from their sheaths and beamed “A’ight fellas, who wants ta go first!”

The shorter hunter, shaken from Jazz’s battle cry, attempted to have at her with his own sword, but she easily dodged his swing without a sweat. Seeing Jazz occupied, the taller one went for Braiden and snatched his neck, throwing him towards the back of the room. Braiden managed to recover, but only had time to dodge another attack from the giant brute.

Quickly looking up at Briaden Jazz cried out, “Ah shit, sorry bro!” She quickly tried to throw her blade at one of the hunters to help her friend, but missed horrible and landed in the fireplace. Her left eye twitched as she growled, “Ugh for the love of-!” She got cut off by another swing from the shorter gent and quickly dodged out of the way again. He cackled at her failure and tried to slash at Jazz again, but in his fit of laughs he only landed a small scratch on her.

The giant gang member slid his foot on the ground like a bull and readied himself to charge at Braiden. He let out a cry and charged, but Braiden took one leap over him and the hunger smashed into the wall. In a rush of energy, Braiden grabbed a small stool and threw it at the smaller hunter, making him stagger slightly but not down just yet. Getting up from the table, the leader tried to punch back at Braiden. Braiden caught his fist and returned the punch to the leader.

Seeing the smaller one knocked down momentarily, Jazz grinned, “Woah, nice one dude!” When the leader approached however, her instincts took over. Blue flames encompassed her fists and without thinking she roared “Oi, DON’T TOUCH FOOD BRO!” And bashed it right into the back of the leader’s skull. The blow was finally enough for their enemy to fall unconscious to the floor.

Completely forgetting about her previous adversary, the smaller hunter latched onto the back of Jazz and tried to scratch at her a few times but was immediately met with an angry backhand from the fiery esper as she growled “Boy sit down, Jazz ain’ dealin’ wid yo’ ass right now.”

Braiden approached the downed leader, leaned down and whispered “Can’t wait ‘till next time, buddy. See ya ‘round.” Once that was over and done, Braiden smiled at Jazz and nodded, leaving for the door. She wasn’t paying attention however, her mind currently occupied by the blue flames that flickered across her hands. Her panicked eyes clenched shut as she held her head and deeply breathed in and out, remembering the calming exercises Olka taught her. Once they finally calmed down, she looked up to find Braiden leaving. She yanked him back by the collar and pointed her other machete at his neck threateningly.

“Oh no ya don’, ya gonna explain some shit ta Jazz.” She growled at him.

Shocked for a moment, Braiden gave in and nodded at her. “I guess you deserve one. But can we do it somewhere else? I don’t want to hang around for these guys to wake up.”

Jazz narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded reluctantly and lowered her blade. She followed after Braiden but not before kicking the poor small hunter in the nuts while spitting on him. “Fuckin’ rude-ass shitheads interruptin’ my goodass meal.” She grumbled.

Once they were outside, Braiden took a deep breath and began, “Okay. So my name is not ‘Callen’, it’s Braiden. I have a bounty on my head for charges that I’m accused of with the Dominion. As you have seen, I can’t have that, so… I ran away… It’s been years.”

There was a really long pause before Jazz suddenly barked a loud laugh and let out a releaved breath, “Hah, dude was dat all?! Jeez, ya got me here thinkin’ dat you’re some freaky-ass child murderer criminal dat I accidentally gave food to!” She put away her blade and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly “Truth be told I totally gets ya, Jazz been runnin’ away fo’ quite a while too...still runnin’ actually.”

She shuckled meekly before smirking, “Braiden though? D’az a cool name too I guess. An’ real quick bro, ya kicked ass pretteh well, an’ dis is coming from the amazing Jazz!”

Braiden laughed nervously along with her until she told her story. He nodded and smiled “I’m just glad we didn’t have to fight whoever’s after you. And thanks, you fight real good too, I certainly didn’t expect you to be an...ah…” He tried to make fiery motions.

“...A badass lean mean fightin’ machine?” Jazz flipped back her long curls with a cocky grin “Yep, I know. It comes wid da awesome hair, what can I say?” She was about to grab her bag when she fiddled with her other blade sheath and winced “I...probably oughta grab my Krog-Killer from da fire…”

“B-but...he was my favorite…” She pouted very sadly at the door.

Her friend grinned at her remark and turned towards the bar “I don’t think it’s worth it at this point.” He turned back to her and held an open hand to her, “Thanks for the help...and the food...Even if you did eat most of it.”

Jazz blinked when he held out his hand. She snorted in a very unlady-like manner and pointed at his hand with a smirk, “Dude, ya kiddin’ me? Put dat thing away.” Instead she spread her arms out with a grin that threatened to rip her face in half “C’meeeeere!” And without warning put both her arms around his waist in a tight hug and even lifted him up a bit with a happy laugh, “Ya kicked ass wid me in a bar fight! That officially makes ya a certified Jazz friend dude!”

Braiden tried bracing himself for the hug, but let himself get crushed under Jazz’s bear hug. He let out a wheeze and lightly patted her back, “Heh, I’m-” he coughed “- glad! Maybe we could kick ass-” he heaved “-some other time!”

Jazz gasped enthusiastically with a very bright beam as little joyful espernetic swirls of yellow bounced around her head, betraying her excitement “REALLY?! Dat’d be great I can’ wait ta- Oh wait shit lemme put ya down now.” She quickly placed him back on the ground and patted his back awkwardly, worried that she broke a bone.

Her friend brushed himself off and took deep breaths. “Well, this is goodbye for now Jazz. Oh, and do me a favor, don’t do business with those shitheads again.” He warned playfully.

“Nope, I ain’t takin’ money from those wank-stains again. ...But I be goin’ in dere for Krog-Killer soooooo…” She gave Braiden a thumbs up before rolling up her sleeves grinning “Back ta kickin’ ass, takin’ blades and leavin’ dis joint! Don’ be a stranger Brai-bro!” And with that she turned around and marched determinedly towards the bar with a violent twinkle in her eye.

Braiden gave one last shake of his head, still smiling, before walking off.

[mrgrant9559-blog]

Witch Way Is Right? Part 9

A/N: Ok so after being done with this, I realize I made this a lot longer than I intended… If you guys want to be added to the taglist then send me an ask… Hope you guys like this one… The reader’s relationship grows with Steve Rogers, Scott Lang and… Spider-Man?! Enjoy!

Summary: (Y/N) is a male witch and also comes from a family of witches. When (Y/N) is backed up in a corner by his brother, who chose the dark path, he is forced to choose his own fate, choosing the light path. This causes an Ecliptic War between Light and Dark Witches. During this war, an eclipse (both solar and lunar) is happening, and won’t end until one brother is left standing. With the help of the Avengers and other helpful heroes, will (Y/N) be able to defeat his brother, or will the world be forever secluded in darkness?

Subject: Avengers x Male!Reader/Steve Rogers x Male!Reader

Characters: Avengers, Y/N, Mom OC, Dad OC, Peter Parker, Scott Lang/Ant-Man (since he’s not really an Avenger)

Warnings: Cursing, Underage drinking

Tags: @thegreatficmaster @avengersohyeah @lzzywinchester @uselessace @writeyouin

Word Count: 3,250+ words

Masterlist!

__________________________________

Reader’s POV:

If I had to describe myself, partier would not be a word I’d use. To be frank, I’ve never really been to an actual party before. And no, its not because I never got invited to one. In fact, I DID get invited to one of Flash Thompson’s house parties before all this. It was cool, but would’ve been better if Spider-Man stopped by like Peter said he would, which I guess would’ve been hard for him to do considering what I know now.

This party, however, was a bit different than that. There’s still a sick DJ, except no one has to be sneaky with the alcohol because we’re all adults here. The music is a lot better. It’s like modern music with a mix of smooth jazz. I walk over towards my parents, who are just laughing and all over each other. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were already buzzed.

“Okay, heres the shots you guys wanted.” I say as I hand them one each. I look down at my drink, which is also a tequila shot, and I feel like I’m dreaming. I’m about to have my first drink with my parents and I’m not even 21, yet. I gotta say, I’m really liking the UK.

I go for a sip of my drink, but get stopped by my dad. “Hold on there, hot shot! This is your first drink, so I think it’s only fair if we do a toast.” He tells me and I nod my head in agreement. What I didn’t agree to, was him getting everyone at the party’s attention for the toast. I actually thought it was just gonna be a thing between family but nonetheless.

“I just want to make a toast to my son, Y/N!” He says, grabbing a few “Here heres” from the crowd of people. “Y/N, I’m so proud of the man you’ve become, even though you became a man in just a couple of minutes.” Everyone gives out a laugh, while I chuckle. “Despite whats been going on and what we’re probably gonna be going through in the near future, I just want to say none of that can or will change the fact that I… WE love you!” My dad brings my mom close to him in those last words.

My mom raises her glass and we all do the same. “To Y/N! Our brave son, and newest Avenger!” My mom says and everyone cheers as they take a drink from their cup. I finally drink my tequila shot and instantly regret it. It tastes like orange juice after brushing your teeth with just a hint of earwax. I don’t how anyone could just drink this like its nothing. I look towards my parents and there they are, drinking it like its nothing. How can people just drink this stuff to the point where it becomes a problem? There has to be something at the bar that tastes better.

I walk to the bar and ask the bartender for a margarita. Those always look good on TV. As the bartender gets the ingredients and tools to make it, I see Steve come up to the counter next to me. The second bartender walks up to him from the other side of the counter.

“Hey, Rogers! What can I getcha? Same as always?” He asks in a strong british accent.

“Yeah, same as always.” He replies with a smirk. The bartender walks away to get the drink while Steve looks my way. I try looking away until he calls my name. “So, thats what the emoji meant?” He asks.

I finnaly give up and look at him and he has a cocky grin. “Yeah, well mid-text I decided that I’m tired of adults thinking they can tell me what to do. I’m 18 now and I’m responsible for my own actions. You understand, right?” I say with a sorta sassy tone.

Steve chuckled before saying, “Actually I do.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, not expecting a legitimate answer. “Wait, really?!”

“Yup! You know, I used to be 18 too.” I give out an obvious fake gasp which in turn causes him to chuckle again. “Yeah yeah I know, its crazy. Anyways, back in those days it was real common for 18 year old men to be on their own and out their parent’s house. Have their own job, their own life partner.”

“You mean their own wife, right? Cause I can’t imagine it being any other way.” I correct him, but he shakes his head in disagreement.

“No, I meant what I said. Just because that lifestyle was frowned upon back then, doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.” He adds.

That causes me to wonder. I mean, how would he know that fact? Could THE Steve Rogers be hiding something bigger than his secret identity? I was about to have the courage to ask him on it, but our drinks arrived. He grabs his, which looks to be just whiskey with some ice in it, and I grab my margarita. We glance at each other and he gestures to clink glasses. I catch on and do the same. “Here’s to being an adult.” He says and we clash glasses as I nod in response.

As I’m sipping my drink, which actually tastes better this time, I see what looks like a long string dangling from one of the windows. I walk closer towards it and realize it’s actually a string of web, which means only one thing. I curse under my breath as I try to shimey through the crowd of people and towards the balcony to see a couple more strings of web leading to the roof of the building. “No fuckin way…”, mumble, but through all the music going on I didn’t notice Steve was next to me and was also able to hear me.

“Hey, language!” He said to me with a stern look.

“Oh, sorry, Steve. I didn’t know you were next to me.” I explained.

“Are you ok?” he asks me, concerned.

There’s no way that these WEB strings are from who I think they’re from. Right? “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to… um… get some air. I’ll be back…”

“Well maybe I can come with you…” Steve suggested.

“NO!” I yelled. “I mean… No, I don’t want you want you to miss the party.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Steve replies right before he turns around and gets lost in the crowd of people. I feel bad for yelling at him, but my nerves are at an all time high because in midst of all this partying, I feel my brother has something big planned against me. I grab another drink, a bottle of Heineken this time, and make my way out the door to the building stairs to the roof where I spot Peter in his Spidey suit with his mask only revealing the bottom part of his face. He brings a bottle of beer, which looks to be the last one of the pack, up to his mouth until he spots and turns to me.

“Y/N! H-H-Hows it goin ma dude!” Peter says, slurring his words and studdering. Is he really drunk? Thats not even what I’m really concerned about.

“Peter?! What the hell are you doing here?! And how’d you get all the way to England?!” I asked him, surprised that he’s even here. He should be back home in New York.

He stood up from his sitting position while trying to walk to me. He wobbles in all directions until he’s taken the literal three steps he needed to get to me. I roll my eyes, already annoyed at how hammered he is. Just when it looks like he about to speak, he starts bursting into laughter like a hyena.

“Peter, this isn’t funny!” I say through gritted teeth. “You gotta control yourself or else you’re gonna get caught.”

“Yeah? And… And who would be STUPID enough to challenge… Spider-Man and his trusty sidekick… Uhh… Umm… Oh I got it! The Golden Bitch!” He says in a superhero announcer voice. This causes him to laugh hysterically again. “My bad… I-I didn’t mean to call you a Bitch!”

“Alright, thats it! I need to get someone else here.” I say in defeat. But if someone see’s us, they’ll think that I brought him here and got him drunk. Who could I tell that wouldn’t rat us out to the whole party?

“Oooh! Oooh! I know! I know! Pick me!” Peter says with his hand raised in the air like a kid in kindergarten.

I turn to him and sigh in frustration. “Yes, Peter?”

“What about that-that guy with the asian last name but isn’t asian at all?” Peter suggests.

“You mean Scott Lang? Peter, thats kinda racist.” I ask him.

“Yeah yeah, him.” He replies, nodding his head sporadically until he has sit from being dizzy.

“No, Pete thats… Actually not a bad idea.” I say, realizing that Scott would be the perfect guy to help us. “Huh? Leave it to Peter Parker to come up with great ideas, even under intoxication.” I start walking towards the door until something shoots at my hand, knocking my drink out of it and onto the door just above my head. The bottle shatters and I’m covered in both glass and alcohol.

I turned around and see Peter with his hand out like he just shot a web. “Oh shit. I-I’m sorry! I-I tried to grab the bottle w-with web!” Peter says innocently.

“Whatever just STAY. HERE. Got it?” I confirm with him and he nods.

I go downstairs to where the everyone’s at and find Scott easily talking with Bucky and Sam about how he could’ve single handedly taken out Tony and his team in that airport. I tap him on the shoulder getting his attention. “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?” I ask him.

“Yeah, sure whats up?” Scott asks. I look behind him and see Bucky and Sam looking at me like I asked them too.

“Um actually, can we go somewhere private and talk?” I ask.

“Yeah, is everything ok?” he asks, concerned.

“Yeah everythings fine. Just come with me real quick.” I say pulling his arm to come follow me. As we go upstairs I decide this would be a good time to tell him. “Alright so, you know Peter Parker, right?”

“That Spider-Kid I faught in the airport, right? You know I could’ve taken Tony’s whole team on my own right?” He says.

“Yeah, thats so cool,” I say in a rushed manner. “Anyways, we have kind of a big problem.”

“How big?” he asks. As we approach the last step, I open the door to the roof but there’s no one there.

“What the hell? Peter?!” I yell but hear nothing.

“Wait, the kid’s here in England? How the hell did he get here?” Scott asks.

“I have no idea,” I say in defense. “I was just downstairs enjoying the party, when I see some web strings dangling on the balcony. Peter!” Suddenly I hear a sorta feint response. It sounds like it’s coming from the side of the building. Scott and I walk to the side of the building where we see Peter laying in a huge spider nest like an actual spider. I don’t know how but the bastard got more beer while I was gone.

“Hey, Y/N! You got Anty!” He says as he wheezes again in laughter. “I said Anty like he was my aunt! Oh shit I wonder what Aunt May is up to!”

“Son of a bitch!” Scott curses under his breath but I still heard him. “Is he drunk?!”

“Drunk is a bit of an understatement. He’s fucking hammered.” I reply.

“Whats going on here?” a voice says behind us startling both Scott and I. We turn around and see Steve. Well, this just got better.

“Steve, why are you here?” I ask.

“Because clearly you’re hiding something. I don’t know what, but for some reason you feel like you can talk to Scott about it.” He says annoyed.

“Listen, Cap, its not what you think, alright,” Scott says, trying to reason with a pissed off Steve. “Y/N just needed help with a situation and he thought I would be able to help out.”

“Help out with what exactly?” Steve asks.

“Alright, fine. I just really need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone.” I say, making him swear he’ll be on my side with this. He agrees and I walk him over to the side of the building where he see’s a drunk Spider-Man. He surprisingly kept his cool and started coming up with ideas.

“Well can’t you use some spell to make him sober again?” Steve asked.

“I could if it was first caused by alcohol, but I have a feeling that my brother had something to do with this. He’s probably sent him here too.” I explain. I know Peter, and I also know that he’s not the type of guy to drink his emotions away. I mean, yeah he was bummed that he didn’t get recruited to the Avengers like I did, but he knows right from wrong. Unlike me.

I use my magic to teleport Peter back on the roof and to get rid of all the webbing. Luckily, Scott brought his Ant-Man helmet and was able to send his ants downstairs to get Peter a bottle of water so he could calm down.

“Hey, Kid? I need you to focus, alright?” Steve says, trying to get Peter to pay attention to him. “I need you to tell me if you remember anything before you got here to London.”

“Yeah I was stopping some bad bad people in this high speed chase.” He says, then takes a gulp from his water bottle. “And after I stopped them, I was swingin around like… BLAM! BLAM! SWISH!! And then outta-outta nowhere some bright purple hole came in front of me and next thing I know, I’m here.”

“Ok well that explains Alex’s doing,” I say turning to Scott, “but that still doesn’t explain why he’s so fucking drunk.” Steve just shrugs, he’s just as oblivious to the situation as we are.

“Oh yeah,” Peter says, perking up, “then your brother came by and said something in a different language.”

“Was it Greek?” I asked, thinking we might be getting close to a solution. That was until he shook his head no. “Dammit, Alex, what the fuck did you do to him?!”

Peter takes another drink from his bottle of water and gives a refreshing sigh. “Man, I t-thought that this was water.” He exclaims.

“What are you talkin about? It is water.” I say correcting him. “It IS water, right Scott?”

“Yeah it should be.” He says before grabbing the bottle from Peter and taking a swig of it. Scott nods his head confirming that it is, in fact, water.

“Hey, Kid! Lemme smell your breath real quick.” Steve says. Peter leans towards Steve and blows on his face. Steve grimaces in disgust at what he smells. “Y/N, what else did he drink besides beer?”

“According to Peter’s story, nothing. Why? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“His breath smells like whiskey, but the water just tastes like water?” He confirms.

Thats it! Alex must’ve put some spell on Peter so that whatever he drinks tastes like whiskey. If thats the case, then I just mght be able to reverse the spell. “Alright, Steve, Scott I might know what spell my brother used.” I tell them.

“Thats great, then hurry up and fix it, so we can get him home before his Aunt worries.” Steve says.

“Alright, lets see if this works.” I mumble. My eyes and hands glow gold as I get an idea of what my brother exactly said to cast the spell. I remember Dad told him this phrase when they went for Alex’s first show of whiskey. “Iksiwla nim uluhla meatla,” (Sweet taste of whiskey.). Peter’s mouth glows good like my hands and eyes do when I cast a spell. Then, 5 seconds later its stops. “Okay. I think it worked! Scott, try giving him that water again.” I say and Scott does just that.

Peter takes a gulp and smacks his mouth, trying to get an accurate taste of the drink.

“Alright, Kid,” Steve says, “what does the drink taste like now?”

“W-What are you talkin about, bro? Its water!” Peter replies with slurred words. Scott, Steve and I sit down on the ground relieved that the spell wore off.

“Oh, I almost forgot to sober him up!” I realized and quickly used a spell to make him sober. I look at Scott who looks like he’s just down with tonight. “Hey, Scott! Thanks for helping me out with this. Really I don’t know what I would’ve done without your help.” Scott waves his hand at me gesturing that it was no problem for him. I look towards Steve and he gives me a thumbs up. “Steve, I really appreciate you helping us out with this,” I admit. “If it wasn’t for you, I’m sure Tony would be going for my neck if my parents hadn’t gotten to it first.”

“Its no problem, honestly. But do you really think your parents wouldn’t of taken your side?” He asks me.

“I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t know anything anymore.” I say, making Steve adjust himself so that he’s facing me more. “After what I did, choosing a path that I apparently wasn’t supposed to, making you guys fight a war that doesn’t even involve you, putting you lives at risk. I don’t know if the next thing I do will help you guys or doom you. I’m better off fighting this war on my own. Facing the consequences that were set for me. You know what I mean, right?”

“No, I don’t!” Steve protests.

“What?” I say, surprised.

“Y/N, don’t think for a second that you were wrong for choosing a light path. You’ve got to realize that you weren’t the one who caused all this.” He says to me. “You and your brother were both raised to choose the light path when you turned 18. It was Alex who chose the wrong path, not you! He’s the one that forced you to choose your path and he knew you were gonna choose the light path. Don’t you see? This whole thing, the eclipse, the war, the spells being casted on us. Thats all him. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to see the light in these dark times.”

Steve’s right! I have to stop pinning all this chaos and distress on myself. I’m the one whose fixing these problems he’s leaving behind. When my Dad was almost beaten death, it was me who healed him, not Alex. When Peter was under Alex’s spell, it was me who figured it out and snapped him out of it. It’s not about making the wrong choices, it’s about me changing the wrong into a right. Changing the dark into light.

“Thanks Steve! That actually made me feel a whole lot better.” I say, as a tear runs down my face but Steve brings his hand to my face to wipe it away.

Steve and I stand up and try to get Peter to do the same so I can take him home. “Kid?! What the hell are you doing here?” Tony says in his Iron Man suit, catching us all by surprise. “Why are there beer bottles everywhere?!”

Shit! This night just keeps getting worse and worse.

[dogboymutual]

highlights of scary game squad’s playthrough of faith

red light, sinners

let’s get old testament!

OH LORD,,,, WE’RE GONNA GETCHA,,,, aAAAAaAAAAA

actually this is Catholic, not at all Southern Baptist

it’s like *ominous latin* and you drink wine and you hate yourself or whatever

when you stop walking you put up a crucifix and it’s like, “Chill.”

Into the Atari Church.

Kiss. THE BOOK!

Fuck you deer! Go to church!

who the fuck was that? the spiderman

d i d  w e  j u s t ,  l i k e ,  p r a y  t o  t h e  d e v i l

not in his house

i like how he’s like, “suffer, oh fuck you, damn, you got me, foiled again by the power of Christ, what a buzzkill”

Jesus was a  R e a l   D r a g .

All the best, Satan  Darryl Henderson

Rick and Mortis

Dio mas no szechwan sauce

“Dude, don’t do those jokes that are over my head, dude. That’s too smart for me.”

have you tried, Pocket Mortis. on the App Store.

Hail Jesus, okay bye

thanks, Bambi

the game companies tried to run us over. That was Capcom

Boil my cooties, Jeff

You’ve got this weird swagger as a priest, ‘cause you know you walk with Jesus

That guy said motherfucker, I swear “he keeps saying something about my father”

just be ready to turn around and blast Jesus

FUCKIN BOO-BOO ASS SLENDERMAN, TRYING TO RUIN EVERYONE’S TIME

get away from me bitch, i need to go in this well.

this is MY black, open nowhere forest

the name of one character being one letter off of the name of one of the guys in the squad

jirard changes the name to fit davis and he just responds with the tiniest little “don’t do that”

alright, thanks guys, i’m just gonna, run home.

that’s a scooby doo photo

OH! Possess it.

just look out for cyber slenderman.

physically fit family, guys.

even physically fit families can get possessed by the Devil

Yo. Is that Google Chrome?

no, that is a Simon Says.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh. Nate.

*odd accent*  In ze baaaasement.

Oh. Blood on the floor. My favorite.

Get ready to exorcise some sheets and some other stuff

Yo, blast that with some Jesus. JEBUS

Layton. “Professor Layton?” Quiet. “Thank you.” Indubitably.

the most monotone voice ever: “yikes”

oh, that is boo-boo

go JAZZ her with some JESUS

6 o’clock bOIIIIS

d. do we need to jump out the window like in The Exorcist.

“isn’t that bad...?”

come on you crazy arm faced B I T C H

fuck, man

(demon jumps out window) GO WITH GOD! :D

i would literally die, i would literally pass away right on the spot

no, you don’t need the shotgun you have  J e e e e s u s

After obtaining the shotgun, Jirard proceeds to talk about the priest’s “big dick” for about 10 seconds straight

and then it catches on until the conversation just devolves into “BIG DICK BOYS!”

the squad with the large dinguses

the lord giveth and the priest taketh away

let’s go home and be safe by 8 o’clock, sleep in our beds leave the occult alone, if we’re lucky there will be a stop at an Arby’s

have some Arby’s. avoid the demons.

Choke your demon to death with beef and cheddar cheese.

oh fuck, Ring Boys! EAT US, E-EAT US-

“ey, i heard you killed my dad, bitch.”

Oh, hey there neighbor, I- *gets shot*  OH GOD

Davis is the creepy white guy

[coldboremiracle]

So there I was, listening to some Jazz, and this guy comes in typing incoherently... . . . Better getcha some more ass for that 308, she's gonna need it to dance with the sixes. #coldboremiracle #freelancesharpshooter #65creedmoor #308win #internetting (at Jazz Lounge) https://www.instagram.com/p/B54WtPdJHIB/?igshid=6dfmj8zezzc0

[lboogie1906]

Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. When she was four years old, she performed at the Apollo Theater. As a teenager, she recorded commercial jingles and worked as a session singer in soul and R&B. She had an R&B hit in 1969 with "Family Tree". She sang backing vocals on Paul Simon's 1975 number-one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". The jazz label CTI released her debut album, End of a Rainbow, in 1976. She sang "The Closer I Get to You" for Tom Browne's album Browne Sugar, a duet with Michael Jackson for his album Off the Wall, and a duet with George Benson on "Moody's Mood for Love". After singing on Quincy Jones's album The Dude, she signed a contract with his record label, Qwest, which released Every Home Should Have One with "Baby, Come to Me", a duet with James Ingram that became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine pop chart. A second duet with Ingram, "How Do You Keep the Music Playing", appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Best Friends (1982). GRP released her album Love Is Gonna Getcha, which contained the singles "Good in Love" and "Through the Test of Time". #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/ChFCh4IrvI9gHIeELXtmNZvE7Vsd1MxI3E7hLI0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[loudsociocollective-blog]

One Last Dance with Media

Hello again, 

This will be my final blog post. I know, I know, I'm sad too. But duty calls elsewhere and all that jazz. So for this last one, you just have to listen closely..

Ever notice how media outlets always try to appear unbiased? Yeah me nether. Because I never really watched that closely to pick it up. Like I mentioned in my last blog post, lots of us consume media texts mindlessly; without critically analyzing what we are actually allowing into our brains.. which then influences our future thoughts and actions. Gotta be careful with that stuff, it’ll getcha. 

Thankfully, sociologists have been looking critically at the media for decades. Theorists like Anderson and Sharrock have been paying extra close attention. They noted in their journal “Biasing the news: technical issues in media studies” that other media scholars basically suck at content analysis and have been focusing on all the wrong things. The right way to critically anaylize bias in media text is by looking at 1)  bias of news producers 2) background/societal influence, 3) the produced text; 4) reading of the text. Doing an in depth analysis of a media text in the Anderson/Sharrock fashion would take a while. Since I only have your attention for approximately 1200 words, I’m gonna keep this short and sweet and focus on 1) background/societal influence and individual bias, 2) briefly speak to audience interpretation 

Okay so no one wants to be biased. No newspaper journalist looks at a juicy news piece and strategizes how to write the paper so its biased. Bias is a natural occurrence where individuals/corporate or societal opinion influences how we understand things. Everyone is biased, even if the desperately want to be objective. Theres just no getting around that. 

Anderson and Sharrock point out that media scholars have been treating journalists as attempting to be biased for decades. But in reality, no journalist wants to appear biased. That would completely ruin their reputation - just look at Fox news! (queue my bias). Overall there are a number of complex things that go in to unintentionally making an article biased. 

When people think bias, they usually think of news stories and media texts that tackle controversial topics. They often forget that bias undertones are also present within media texts that at face value appear unbiased. 

I picked an example to illustrate my point with more clarity: 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/prime-minister-to-march-in-halifax-pride-parade-1.4209625

This article explains the events of this past weekend, where Canada’s Prime Minster, Justin Trudeau, confirmed he would be marching alongside the LGBTQQP2SAA community at the Halifax Pride Parade. 

I would like to start off by pointing out that this article tries its very best be objective and unbiased. CBC even has a page where it states that every single news article attempts to be unbiased, truthful and objective. Ironically it says not everyone will like their posts (insinuating its audience is biased L O L). The point is, CBC wrote this article in hopes that it would be objective and unbiased. Did they succeed? Well, no. But they tried their best!!! its not they were biased in the obvious sense.... like: 

“Trudeau to march in Halifax Pride Parade Saturday.... dang it” 

OR 

“Trudeau to march in Halifax Pride Parade Saturday... Yay!!!!

Because sometimes, this is what its like. The incorporation of specific words and phrases changes the tone of the presented information. In this sense, language does a lot to introduce bias to a media text. Using descriptive words adds influence to how a message should be taken. Like above, the first pretend title says ‘dang it’ which insinuates the author is not happy with Trudeau's star appearance. Whereas the later exemplifies the author is real excited about this topic. 

But in this article, Its much more complex than that. The amount of language, the type of language and the structure of language all contribute to how a media text is biased or non-biased. One could argue that using too little, or too much language, the order the words are presented in, and the usage of descriptive vs. neutral words influences bias. These biases are created through individual experience and interaction with societal norms and experiences. Based on this experience, individuals, communities and/or corporations create opinions on the world and act/think in accordance to them. 

Personally, I thought (my bias) that CBC actually did a pretty good job at remaining almost unbiased in this article. Objectively, they answered the 5 W’s: 

Who - Trudeau 

What - Pride Parade 

Where - Halifax 

When - This weekend 

Why - Wanna support LQBTQP2SAA peoples 

and then provided a quote for both sides which included both Trudeau’s and the Pride Parades Twitter*** account’s comments. In this way, some could argue that since they mostly used neutral words, followed the objective 5 W’s format, and provided a stance from both parties, that this article was relatively unbiased. 

HOWEVER, there are two large problems with the quotes that were provided. First, the quotes were hand chosen by the journalist/ CBC staff. They Provided quotes that, in their opinion, represented the story the best. In order to do so, they would need to have a decision on what the story was trying to say, and what all parties felt about the topic. Secondly, the quote presented from the Pride Parade was from the Halifax Pride twitter account, and offered an excited statement from the Pride community in response to Trudeau’s attendance. As well, its hard to know who runs the Halifax Pride twitter account, and what biases they may individually have!!!!! 

BUT, there was actually a missed response from the pride community regarding Trudeau's decision to march in the parade. Some felt that his presence overshadowed the meaning of the event, and took away from they event’s progress and autonomy. Was this lack of information intentional? its too hard to say. But the fact that it was not mentioned makes this article inherently biased to the excited/ not mad response to the Prime Minister’s attendance. 

Not to mention that they noted that Trudeau is the first president to attend this type of event ever, which makes him look good to the liberal peeps out there (funny, as CBC has been accused of having a liberal bias).  

I chose this article specifically because although it is close to being objective, it proves that basically nothing is, since everything is biased. Its not CBC’s fault. Their company, and the author just have opinions that naturally influence their writing. They make statements about objectivity, but really complete objectivity is impossible. 

I also chose this article because it made me critical of my own biases. I proudly support the LGBTQQIP2SAA community and although Trudeau is by no means perfect, I think he's better than the previous Prime Ministers Canada has had. In this regard, I had to look at how my own biases, as a reader, were incorporated into this article. How I personally think that CBC did a pretty good job at attempting to be unbiased. BUT my next door neighbour could think I'm nuts. 

In the end, its clear that bias is prevalent everywhere and in anything and everything we do. Language plays a large role in how we present a text. Then, the audience reads the text, and places their own biases on the article (like me, when i read it and was happy that pride was receiving attention and positive representation). With both the author and the thousands of readers, and thousands of biases, things can get complicated fast. 

Basically everything is biased. So is nothing biased? I don't know. Thats pretty philosophical for me. But it is interesting to look closely and critically at the way bias is manifested in such mundane and unlikely things in society. Next time I'm looking for recipes online, I might take into account that the Betty Crocker ‘best chocolate chip cookies in the world’ may not actually be the best in the world (dang it). 

Alright this has been fun, but everything must come to an end. Its been a pleasure rambling to you on the internet. Thanks for listening!! 

Christine, out. 

[fox-satan]

Reverse spooking.

In my dream last night I was in a house where a little girl (maybe six) was hiding from a ghost in a bed, she said that the ghost couldn't see but she could hear so that's why the TV and radio were on in the rooms downstairs. I said, and I quote, "Don't be so dumb, ghosts can't hurt you anyway." Well fuck me. I went downstairs to make coffee and outside was a guy, gonna say mid twenties, in construction gear and when I turned the light on he started motioning for me to open the door. So I did. Guy asked where his sister was and in the middle of us talking he starts to choke, staring at me as if it was my fault. Bob the builder gets dragged out of the house and the door slams shut, cliche I know. Then I notice a piece of paper saying "Let's play hide and seek", in what is definitely not ink. I oblige and pick an obvious spot in the living room and wait patiently, after a couple of minutes I see parts of the room distorting in my vision, it takes a moment or two for my eyes to focus but I can see its a small figure moving round the room. When it vanishes I feel quite pleased, I'm an idiot it's allowed, and then the little shit is in front of me. She's slim, expected when it's a child-ghost, with hair to her shoulders. More importantly she's staring at me with one of those expressions that a predator gives to prey, smiling a weird smile before saying, "again." Then she vanishes, so naturally I go and hide somewhere dumb, after recovering from a minor heart attack. When she finds me this time I try and surprise her, flashing some jazz hands and basically shouting "Boo!" Well, the ghost takes a pause and a real long look at me before she giggles then runs off, naturally I follow with the usual "I'm gonna getcha!" When I eventually catch her she's solid, so give her a little tickle and she settles, smiling up at me before she just nods and vanishes. TL;DR, I refuse spooked a ghost and sorted out a haunted house problem. Also sorry for the wall of text to any followers that aren't robots.

[deeafrotailmisstress]

Fleeting Meetings

((My first WS Rp! And it wasn’t a total fail!! Ermigurd!! Thanks to @stellaralchemist​ for being super super chill and awesome, I really like Elena and she was fun to RP with, so I hope you guys enjoy reading this short RP!))

In a small empty bar sat Elenia Volescu by the bar enjoying a drink alone. That is, until a shorter woman speed-walked over to the right of the Mordesh and looked about shiftily, as if she was on the lookout for someone. She quickly hunched over beside the woman and grunted a small greeting “‘Sup.”

Elenia Volescu raised a blue eyebrow, looking over her datachron. “Do I know you?” She asked in a dry, hissing voice.

Jazz paused at the surprisingly direct question and scratched the back of her head quizzically “Noooo...should I know ya? If I should, I apologise, I ain’t exactly in my super focused mood right now…” She weakly smiled as she hurriedly looked to the front and cleared her throat “So uh...mind doin’ me a quick favor lady?”

Elenia gave her a thin look, raising the glass of whiskey to her lips “Why should I?”

The human beside her drummed her fingers onto the counter as she thought about an appropriate incentive. A good question indeed. Jazz bit her bottom lip nervously as she muttered “‘Cause...I’ll buy a round fo’ ya? Plus it’ll lit’rally take ya like, two seconds.”

She tilted her head to flutter her eyelashes playfully at the Mordesh with a small nervous smile “...pretty please?”

Elenia finished her whiskey in one gulp and pointed to an expensive looking bottle on the top shelf “Make it a double, then we can talk.”

Jazz’s eyes widened when she noticed that the bottle would cost her every coin in all her pockets...literally. She just mainly lived on every wage she got along the way, so it didn’t surprise her that she was rather limited on funds now. But seeing as how she almost felt the footsteps of some people she dreaded coming in here any minute now, she shook her head and gave a thumbs up to the cloaked Mordesh “Ya got ya’self a deal gal!”

She quickly ordered the bot for the requested vintage and quickly went back to hunching over as if to hide behind Elenia and stage-whispered really close to her “Could ya real quick give a peep over to ya left an’ see if any shady fellas be here or lookin’ ta find somebody?”

The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes and gestured to the corner of the bar, indicating that Jazz should hide around there “I’ll snap my fingers when it’s clear. Go hide.”

“...What if dey see me headin’ over there?” Jazz whispered louder, getting quite worried to leave her already cleverly secluded spot behind a sour Mordesh “Jus’ sayin’, they ain’ gonna wanna go pokin’ ‘round a salty lookin’ Mordesh so mebbe I oughta stick ‘round here?”

The bot on the other side of the bar whirred to refill Elenia’s drink as she shrugged “Suit yourself. Who is after you, exactly?”

“Uuuhhhh…” Jazali let out a long awkward sound as she tried to think of an excuse to not tell until she heard a familiar voice coming from down the hallway. She let out a small ‘eep!’ and completely forgot the Mordesh’s advice to hide in the corner and instead ducked under the counter to hide behind the bar in a panic move.

Elenia sighed under her breath, lifting her new glass of whiskey and casting a look over to the door. A human man cloaked in dark black leather walked into the establishment, followed by a Grund in similar attire who stayed behind in the hallway, looking around with narrow eyes.

The human male was muttering something to his datachron as he looked around the entire area, only stopping once he reached Elenia. He leaned his elbows against the counter beside her giving his own attempt at a charming smile, which came off as a sleazy smirk “...Seen a girl come by here recently?”

His only response was Elenia staring him down “Who the fuck are you and why are you speaking to me?” She asked in a flat hiss.

“Someone with the freedom to ask a simple question aren’t I?” The unshaven man smirked and raised his hands up peacefully before narrowing his eyes “You’re the only one here o’course, so I figured I’d ask since we’re merely lookin’ for a poor misplaced soul…”

She turned away from the man and already looked bored of the conversation.

“Not feelin’ like talkin’ huh?”

It became extremely apparent that she was playing solitaire on her datachron.

“...Suit yerself then.” He shrugged before hacking and spitting to the side. He gave the area one last look before he walked off, waving the Grund to follow him out. Elenia tapped on the bar with a knuckle when the man was gone, still flipping over cards “That was easy.”

Jazz lifted her head up from under the counter when she heard the knock and stared at the woman playing in silence. Her lips slowly widened into a very big grin that stretched from ear to ear before she let out a loud bark of laughter and leapt onto the counter beaming “Hah! I figured dem boys ain’ gonna wanna mess with a scary lookin’ Mordy gal like ya’self!”

She crossed her legs and sat on the counter, not noticing the mud she was getting on the wood as she grinned “That sure was a mighty nice thing ya did for me lady, an’ they ain’ even put up a fuss! Boy I like you, what’s ya name?”

“Oh wait!” Jazz smacked a hand against her forehead with a chuckle and stuck out her other one in greeting “Heya! The name’s Jazz, friends call me Jazzy or Shorty, enemies call me Little Shit, but ya can take ya pick, I don’t mind!”

Elenia lightly moved her whiskey away from the woman, staring at her critically through the chatter and eventually extended a gloved hand “Dr. Volescu. Try to speak more quietly.”

The shorter human shook her hand eagerly “Dr. Volescoo? That’s a cool name! Mind if I call ya doc? Oh!”

Jazz snickered to herself and leaned over to speak more quietly as she winked “Sorry, forgot y’all Mordesh be more o’ da silent type, but thaz cool too! My friend Moki always be sayin’ dat ya can say a lot with a few words, I just usually have trouble with that, but it’s only ‘cause I got lotso’ emotions an’ I wanna express ‘em y’know?”

She bit her lip before she could continue and sheepishly chuckled “Oh yeah, quiet, sorry. Whatcha doin’ round these parts Doc? Here jus’ fo’ the fancy drinks lovely gals like me getcha?”

Jazz cheekily smirked at Elenia, who continued to stare very hard at her. In a slow, deliberate gesture she reached into a pocket and pulled out a little packet of nicotine gum. The pieces fell into her hand in a series of pops and she started chewing “I actually came here for the quiet. Is there an Off button on you somewhere?”

Her new companion blinked in a very confused manner, not really getting the hint as she looked about herself mumbling “Uuuhh...no? I don’t reckon I do? Figure it’d be cool way ta go to sleep though! Ya reckon that’s how the Mechari be takin; their naps? Pressin’ dat off button while listenin’ to their favourite tunes like...Heavy Metal?”

Jazz snorted loudly at her own little joke before leaping off the counter and taking a more comfortable seat beside Elenia.

The doctor continued to stare at Jazz and downed the glass of whiskey, dropping the glass upside down on the counter “Do you want a piece of advice?”

“...Sure! Figure I owe ya anyways, what wid ya savin’ my butt from those weirdos, an’ I ever so appreciate it ‘cause I would prefer ta keep mah booty.” She nodded and placed her chin onto her palms, waiting eagerly.

Elenia gestured for Jazz to lean in closer, making her scoot closer in her chair, and then leaned in forward. “You will be better at hiding if you don’t shout so much.” She hissed quietly and, with a quick scan of her datachron over the waiting bot, she paid her tab and walked out.

“...I’LL KEEP THAT IN MIND!” Jazz called after Elenia as she left with a wave.